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Narrow  Gauge  Railways 

IN  AMERICA. 


A  SKETCH  OP  THEIR  RISE, PROGRESS, AND  SUCCESS: 


VALUABLE  STATISTICS  AS  TO  GRADES,  CURVES,  WEIGHT 
OF  RAIL,  LOCOMOTIVES,  CARS,  ETC. 


ALSO  A 


DIRECTORY  OF  NARROW  G/UJGE  RAILWAYS 


ILLUSTRATED. 


SECOND  EDITION: 


1876. 

13 


\ 


PRESS  OF  THE 


INQUIRER  P.  &  P.  CO., 
Lancaster,  Pa. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION. 


The  favorable  reception  accorded  to  the  first  edition  of  this 
work,  through  its  narrating  in  a  popular  form  the  history  of 
the  Narrow  Gauge  Railway,  and  presenting  in  a  succinct  man¬ 
ner  vital  figures  concerning  those  constructed,  thus  becoming 
an  assistant  in  promoting  the  construction  of  others,  must  be 
sufficient  apology  for  reissuing  it  after  the  lapse  of  a  year. 

In  a  work  of  this  nature,  devoted  to  a  special  railway  interest, 
which  is  growing  rapidly,  the  statistics  require  to  be  constantly 
corrected,  and  extensive  additions  made  thereto,  so  that  an 
annual  revision  is  absolutely  necessary  in  order  that  it  may  be 
a  manual  to  those  engaged  in  the  promotion  and  construction 
of  economical  railways. 

To  engineers,  the  new  chapter  on  construction,  containing 
formulas  for  earthworks  and  for  laying  out  curves,  may  prove 
useful  and  acceptable. 

To  railroad  companies,  the  corporate  history  and  reports  of 
organizations  other  than  their  own  may  induce  comparison  ; 
and  it  is  hoped  that  their  relations  to  each  other  maybe  drawn 
closer  by  the  construction  of  connecting  roads. 

To  the  public,  whose  desire  for  cheap  means  of  transportation 
to  open  up  rich  mineral  and  agricultural  sections,  so  that  their 
latent  products  may  be  converted  into  wealth,  and  who  desire 
to  attain  that  end  with  the  smallest  outlay,  this  brochure  is 
offered  for  reflection. 

Forty  years  ago  the  four  feet  eight  and  a  half  inch  gauge, 
the  narrow  gauge  of  that  day,  was  opposed  by  the  wide  gauge; 
the  antagonism  was  fierce,  the  opposition  intense ;  it  was, 
nevertheless,  of  no  long  duration,  and  ended  in  the  universal 
building  of  the  standard  gauge  road  of  to-day.  Less  then  a 
decade  ago,  a  narrower  gauge  was  propounded,  the  width  be 

(3) 


4 


% 

tween  the  rails  to  be  three  feet  six  inches,  or  less.  History 
repeats  itself.  The  suggestion  was  vigorously  opposed.  The 
partisans  of  each  gauge  availed  themselves  of  the  press,  and 
its  columns  were  filled  with  the  arguments  of  enthusiastic  ex¬ 
ponents,  until  the  first  narrow  gauge  railway  was  constructed, 
when  all  theories  were  dispelled,  and  actual  practice  gave  results; 
still,  as  an  innovation,  it  had  to  pass  through  its  period  of  trial 
and  term  of  probation,  and  submit  to  the  severe  criticism  which 
all  must  endure.  This  may  now  be  considered  at  an  end, 
as  all  attacks  have  ceased,  owing  to  results  having  been  ob¬ 
tained  which  were  at  first  denied. 

During  the  last  twelve  months  narrow  gauge  railways  have 
been  extended  and  multipled  in  a  ratio  the  reverse  of  the 
standard  gauge — a  proof  of  the  favor  in  which  they  are  held  ; 
and  we  anticipate  from  this  time,  that  the  annual  mileage  con¬ 
structed  will  form  a  large  proportion  of  the  yearly  increase  of 
railroads  in  the  United  States. 

The  compiler  acknowledges  his  indebtedness  for  much  valu¬ 
able  data  received  from  the  officers  of  the  several  narrow  gauge 
railway  companies  enumerated  in  this  work,  and  only  regrets 
that  it  was  out  of  his  power  to  present  fuller  financial  state¬ 
ments  and  reports  of  operations.  He  would  again  impress 
upon  railway  companies  the  necessity  of  publishing  this  most 
desirable  information,  as  its  non-appearance  militates  not  only 
against  themselves,  but  the  system  of  which  they  are  represen¬ 
tatives.  H.  F. 

Philadelphia ,  1876, 

311^  Walnut  St. 


NARROW  GAUGE  RAILWAYS. 


THEIR  ORIGIN  AND  GROWTH— THE  FESTINIOG  LINE— 
THE  METRE  GAUGE  RAILWAYS  OF  EUROPE— 
ARGUMENTS  IN  THEIR  FAVOR— THE  DEAD¬ 
WEIGHT  QUESTION. 


During  the  early  history  of  railways  in  England,  a  great 
controversy  arose  among  engineers  as  to  the  best  gauge  to  be 
adopted.  Two  eminent  engineers,  the  greatest  of  the  time, 
Brunei  and  Stephenson,  took  opposite  sides,  and  divided  the 
profession  into  two  hostile  factions,  who  carried  on  with  much 
energy  and  some  acerbity  of  feeling  what  was  called  “the  war 
of  the  gauges.”  The  Brunels  advocated  the  Broad  Gauge,  and 
the  Stephensons  became  the  champions  of  the  Narrow.  The 
former  gave  to  the  Great  Western  line  the  seven-foot  gauge; 
the  latter  to  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester,  and  numerous 
other  lines,  the  four  feet  eight  and  a-half  inch,  or  narrow  gauge 
of  the  period. 

This  controversy  lasted  twenty  years,  and  every  argument 
that  skill  and  ingenuity  could  invent  was  brought  into  requisi¬ 
tion.  Volumes  were  written  to  prove  what  after  all  had  to  be 
determined  by  experience.  Like  most  controversies,  this  one 
at  last  came  to  an  end  under  the  accumulated  evidence  of 
years,  leaving  the  narrow  gauge  the  victor — the  victory  having 
been  made  decisive  by  the  conversion  of  Brunei’s  Great  West¬ 
ern  Broad  Gauge  Railway  to  the  present  “standard”  of  four 
feet  eight  and  a  half  inches  throughout  the  entire  line  during 
1874;  and  in  America  and  Canada,  where  a  broad  gauge  of 
six  feet  and  five  feet  six  inches  had  been  adopted  in  some  in- 

(5) 


6 


stances,  such  as  the  Ohio  &  Mississippi  and  the  Grand  Trunk, 
the  track  has  been  narrowed  to  four  feet  eight  and  a  half  inches 
at  great  expense — experience  having  proven  that  the  original 
gauge  was  too  wide  for  the  traffic,  and  that,  to  use  the  words  of 
a  celebrated  engineer,  the  machinery  and  rolling  stock  had 
been  built  to  haul  and  transport  a  gallon  when  they  did  not 
have  more  than  a  quart  to  carry.  That  a  six-feet  gauge  is  too 
wide,  is  demonstrated  by  the  report  of  Captain  Tyler  on  the 
Erie  Railway,  in  which  he  recommends  it  to  be  narrowed,  even 
though  the  estimated  cost  of  effecting  it  amounts  to  $8,500,000. 
Further,  a  practical  financier  has  stated  that,  “you  could  not 
raise  a  dollar  in  the  United  States  to-day,  to  build  a  road  of 
wider  gauge  than  four  feet  eight  and  a  half  inches.” 

Stephenson’s  gauge  was  the  result  of  accident  or  unex¬ 
plained  cause,  as  when  the  parts  of  the  first  locomotive  were 
put  together,  it  was  found  to  fit  a  gauge  of  four  feet  eight  and 
a  half  inches,  instead  of  four  feet  nine  inches,  as  was  intended, 
and  which  was  then  the  distance  between  the  wheels  of 
ordinary  vehicles  in  England.  With  few  exceptions,  this  gauge 
has  been  adhered  to  ever  since.  No  one  asked  the  question 
until  a  few  years  ago — Why  was  the  present  standard  gauge 
chosen,  and  why  will  not  a  narrower  one  answer  all  purposes  ? 
Man  is  an  imitative  creature;  and  England,  the  birthplace  of 
the  railway,  inhabited  principally  by  a  race  of  conservative 
men,  has  now  in  consequence  a  railway  system  of  16,449  miles 
built  on  the  four  feet  eight  and  a  half  inch  gauge.  Although 
only  367  miles,  according  to  the  English  Board  of  Trade  re¬ 
turns,  were  constructed  during  1874,  yet  Capt.  Tyler,  in  his 
report,  considers  that  the  railway  system  is  far  from  complete, 
and  that  many  hundred  miles  will  have  to  be  built  to  give  the 
benefit  of  railway  communication  to  outlying  districts.  The 
aggregate  length  of  railways  authorized  by  Parliament  during 
the  years  1870,  1871,  1872,  1873  and  1874,  and  not  yet  con¬ 
structed,  alone  amounts  to  more  than  2,200  miles.  The  ques¬ 
tion  that  naturally  suggests  itself  is,  Why  were  not  these  rail¬ 
ways  built  ?  The  answer  is,  because  the  lines  of  route  are  not 
able  to  support  a  gauge  costing  on  the  average  $185,000  per 
mile,  and  because  capitalists  are  aware  of  the  fact  that  more 


7 


than  one-sixth  of  the  amount  invested  in  English  railroad 
shares  pays  no  dividend. 

This  knowledge  should  cause  the  construction  of  the  above 
required  mileage  of  the  narrow  gauge  of  to-day,  which,  as  will 
be  hereafter  shown,  is  built  and  equipped  for  a  much  more 
moderate  figure.  In  fact,  a  pamphlet  has  just  been  issued  en¬ 
titled  “  Light  Railways,”  urging  the  construction  of  three  feet 
gauge  railways  for  the  convenience  of  small  towns  and  villages 
that  will  place  them  in  connection  with  the  trunk  lines.  It 
would  be  absurd  to  advance,  still  more  to  sustain  an  argument 
for  the  conversion  of  the  present  English  system  to  a  narrower 
gauge ;  and  yet,  in  the  light  of  evidence,  we  cannot  deny  that 
a  vast  economy  would  have  been  made,  had  two-thirds  of  its 
present  mileage  been  constructed  either  of  the  Canadian  gauge 
of  three  feet  six  inches,  the  South  American  metre  gauge  of 
three  feet  three  inches,  or  the  United  States  standard  narrow 
gauge  of  three  feet;  it  being  fully  able  and  more  than  suffi¬ 
cient  to  meet  all  the  demands  of  traffic  noza,  and  how  much 
more  when  first  constructed,  and  when  the  business  had  not  at¬ 
tained  its  present  proportions ! 

The  world-famed  and  initial  narrow  gauge  railway,  the 
Festiniog,  in  North  Wales,  was  originally  constructed  in  1832, 
as  a  horse  tramway,  to  carry  slate  from  the  quarries  to  a  ship¬ 
ping  point  at  Portmadoc;  it  was  made  nominally  of  a  two  feet 
gauge,  the  exact  gauge  being  half  an  inch  less  than  that.  This 
state  of  affairs  continued  until  1863,  when,  on  the  recommen¬ 
dation  of  Mr.  C.  E.  Spooner,  the  engineer  of  the  line,  locomo¬ 
tive  power  was  adopted.  The  two  locomotives  built  for  the 
line  by  Messrs.  G.  England  &  Co.,  in  1863,  are  four-wheeled 
engines,  the  wheels  being  two  feet  in  diameter  and  coupled. 
The  wheel  base  is  five  feet,  and  the  cylinders  which  are  outside 
are  eight  inches  in  diameter,  with  twelve-inch  stroke.  The 
weight  of  these  engines,  in  working  order,  is  eight  tons.  Sub¬ 
sequently,  Messrs.  England  built  five  other  engines  of  a  similar 
class,  two  of  them,  however,  being  heavier,  and  weighing  ten 
tons  in  working  order.  The  year  1869  was  marked  by  the 
introduction  of  the  Fairlie  engine,  on  the  Festiniog  railway, 
and  the  results  which  have  since  been  obtained,  show  that  Mr. 


8 


Spooner  exercised  sound  judgment  in  recommending  the 
adoption  of  this  system.  The  Fairlie  engine,  “Little  Wonder,” 
was  built  by  Mr.  Fairlie,  at  the  Hatcham  Works,  and  is 
mounted  on  two  steam  bogies,  each  bogie  having  four  coupled 
wheels  two  feet  four  inches  in  diameter.  The  wheel  base  of 
each  bogie  is  five  feet,  and  the  total  wheel  base  of  the  engine 
nineteen  feet,  while  the  weight,  in  working  order,  is  nineteen 
and  a  half  tons.  Each  bogie  has  a  pair  of  cylinders  8j\  inches 
in  diameter,  with  thirteen  inch  stroke.  In  ordinary  work  this 
engine  will  take  up  a  train,  the  total  gross  weight,  inclusive  of 
engine,  being  127^  tons,  of  which  about  twenty-one  tons  will 
be  passengers  and  goods  carried.  On  the  down  journey,  when 
the  slate  trucks  are  loaded  and  the  goods  wagons  empty,  the 
total  weight  of  engine  and  train  is  about  336^  tons,  of  which 
230  tons  are  paying  load. 

Imperial  Princes  and  Royal  Commissions  from  Russia, 
France,  Italy,  Spain,  Norway  and  Germany,  together  with  en¬ 
gineers  from  the  United  States,  Brazil,  “and  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth,”  have  wended  their  way  to  the  Welsh  hills 
to  behold  and  investigate  and  criticise  this  miniature  iron  road. 
The  novelty  was  so  enduring,  at  first,  that  scarcely  a  week 
elapsed  without  self-appointed  inquisitors  presenting  them¬ 
selves  before  the  chief  engineer  and  manager  of  the  line,  Mr. 
Spooner,  until  at  last  he  began  to  wonder  whether  he  acted  in 
that  capacity  or  as  a  showman. 

It  may  not  be  inopportune  here  to  present  the  following  ab¬ 
stract  from  the  report  for  1874  of  the  Festiniog  Railway, 
according  to  the  returns  of  the  British  Board  of  Trade: 

Length  of  road,  single  track,  2 3  inch  gauge,  14  miles. 

Capital  cost. 

Paid  up  common  stock  (4%  dividend  in  1873),  .  .  .  $430,930 

Preferred  stock  (5 <fo  dividend  in  1873),  .  .  .  175,000 

Loans  (bearing  5  °/0  interest),  .  60,000 


Total  cost  ($47,566  per  mile), 


$665,930 


Besides  dividends  and  interest  charges,  the  company  paid  in 
1874,  $6,760  for  “way  leave,”  and  $1,355  for  rent  of  lands;  and 
adding  this  to  the  interest  and  dividends  we  have  $37,102,  which 
is  -5^-  per  cent,  of  the  cost  of  the  road. 


9 


The  number  of  passengers  and  tons  of  freight  carried  and 


receipts  therefrom  were : 

NUMBER.  RECEIPTS. 

Passengers,  .....  150,714  $24,555 

Tons  of  Freight,  .....  145,141  96,280 

Other  Sources,  .......  4,145 

Total  Earnings,  .*.....  $124,980 
Working  Expenses  (54.04  per  cent.),  ....  67,545 

Net  Receipts,  .  ......  $57,435 


The  enthusiasm  provoked  by  the  Festiniog  Railway,  and  the 
various  papers  issued  by  Robert  F.  Fairlie,  especially  those 
read  before  the  British  Association  in  1870 and  1871,011  “The 
Gauge  for  the  Railways  of  the  Future,”  and  “  Railway  Gauges,” 
has  not  been  without  effect. 

On  the  continent  of  Europe  narrow  gauge  railways  are  in 
successful  operation  in  Belgium,  France,  Italy,  Switzerland, 
Austria,  Russia,  Norway  and  Germany. 

In  France  a  plan  has  been  set  on  foot  for  the  construction  of 
what  are  to  be  called  “  Rural  Railroads.”  The  project  was  first 
broached  by  M.  Chambrier,  a  well  known  civil  engineer,  who 
has  devoted  much  time  and  attention  to  it.  The  proposition  is 
for  the  construction  of  narrow  lines  of  “rural  railroads,”  or  a 
width  of  one  metre  only,  instead  of  the  usual  gauge  of  one 
metre  and  a  half — along  the  wide  space  which  every  traveller 
in  France  must  have  observed  on  the  side  of  almost  every  high 
road.  Now,  at  present,  the  ordinary  railroads  transport  heavy 
goods  at  the  rate  of  3  or  4  centimes,  or  less  than  a  cent  per 
ton  per  kilometre;  but  only  under  condition  of  allowing  a 
large  accumulation  to  take  place,  and  consequently  a  great  loss 
of  time  at  stations,  and  then  sending  off  the  whole  in  a  lump 
by  one  slow  heavy  goods  train.  Now  these  “rural  railroads,” 
economically  constructed  and  without  stations,  or  depots,  or 
accommodations  of  any  kind,  profess  to  be  able  to  replace 
ordinary  carriages,  without  any  delays,  at  two  or  three  times 
less  than  the  present  cost.  They  will  connect  the  small  towns 
.  and  villages  and  manufactories  all  over  the  country,  and  carry 
off  their  produce,  agricultural  or  other,  as  it  is  ready  for  trans¬ 
port.  For  their  construction  there  will  be  no  neecfof  “Acts  of 


IO 


Parliament,”  or  compulsory  appropriations,  or  surveys,  or  other 
expensive  preliminaries,  any  more  than  for  costly  contributions 
of  any  kind  along  the  line.  All  that  will  be  required  will  be 
the  “concession  of  the  roadsides”  for  the  purpose  by  the  Con- 
seil-Generale  of  the  Department,  with  the  authority  to  modify 
here  and  there  the  inclines,  when  too  steep.  But  the  speed  is 
not  intended  to  much  exceed  that  of  an  ordinary  road  car¬ 
riage,  and  the  trains  will  stop  and  pick  up  goods  awaiting  them 
at  every  road  they  cross.  Simple  receiving  offices  may  be 
established  at  village  stores,  or  the  owner  of  goods  may  bring 
them  to  the  train  himself  and  accompany  them  to  their  desti¬ 
nation,  paying  his  fare  on  the  way,  just  as  in  an  omnibus 
or  tramway,  without  the  ceremony  of  ticket-taking  or  other 
impediment.  The  expense  of  laying  down  such  “  rural 
lines”  will  not  exceed  25,000  francs  per  kilometre,  instead  of 
100,000  francs,  which  is  the  case  even  on  the  most  economi¬ 
cally  constructed  ordinary  roads  in  France.  The  estimate  also 
of  the  proceeds  of  such  lines,  based  on  a  rate  of  carriage  of  25 
centimes  per  ton  per  kilometre,  and  on  the  average  road  traffic 
of  goods  and  passengers,  seems  to  be  fairly  remunerative  in  a 
financial  point  of  view,  as  an  investment,  exclusive  of  the 
general  advantage  to  agricultural  interests  to  be  expected. 

In  Switzerland  the  first  narrow  gauge  railway  was  opened  in 
1874.  The  maximum  gradient  is  201  feet  to  the  mile,  and  the 
sharpest  curve  has  a  radius  of  198  feet.  The  undertaking  has 
proved  very  profitable.  The  Swiss  Society  for  Narrow  Gauge 
Railways,  organized  in  September  1872,  holds  concessions  for 
over  one  hundred  miles  of  metre  gauge  railways  which  are  now 
being  pushed  to  completion. 

Finally,  we  have  to  notice  the  narrow  gauge  tramways  pro¬ 
jected  by  the  well-known  Swiss  locomotive  engineer,  Mr.  A. 
Brunner.  These  are  to  be  worked  by  two-storied  motive  power 
cars,  and  a  concession  has  been  granted  for  such  a  line  from 
Zurich  to  some  suburbs. 

In  India  there  are  some  500  miles  of  the  metre  gauge  being 
worked,  and  a  considerable  amount  under  construction.  The 
last  act,  however,  of  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India,  reflects 
little  credit  upon  him  as  a  statesman,  in  that  he  has  reversed 


the  wise  policy  initiated  by  the  late  lamented  Earl  of  Mayo, 
in  respect  to  the  question  of  the  gauge  of  the  lines  to  be  here¬ 
after  constructed  in  India.  We  cannot  but  think  that  this  de¬ 
cision  will  be  reconsidered,  in  view  of  the  report  of  the  Govern  • 
ment  Director  before  us. 

The  total  investment  in  Indian  Railways  is  about  ,£100,000,- 
OOO  ($500,000,000),  the  interest  being  guaranteed  by  the  British 
Government  on  the  5^72  miles  of  railroad  completed,  which 
have  cost  on  an  average  about  $82,500  per  mile. 

The  net  earnings  in  1873  were  less  than  ,£3,200,000  ($16,- 
000,000).  Without  this  guarantee,  therefore,  the  investment 
would  be  very  unsatisfactory — indeed,  it  would  never  have  been 
made;  and  yet  where  the  traffic  grows  very  slowly,  a  gauge  of 
five  feet  six  inches,  with  its  attendant  heavy  expenses,  is  per¬ 
sisted  in  to  the  detriment  of  the  British  Government,  finan¬ 
cially. 

Were  the  Indian  Railroad  system  constructed  on  the  metre 
gauge,  it  is  altogether  probable  that  it  would  have  been  much 
more  profitable. 

In  Australia  and  New  Zealand,  the  narrow  gauge  is  repre¬ 
sented  by  such  lines  as  the  Queensland  Railway,  and  the 
Dunedin  and  Port  Chalmers  Railway,  and  others. 

In  South  America,  the  Argentine  Confederation,  the  Repub¬ 
lics  on  the  river  Plata,  the  Brazils  and  Peru,  narrow  gauge 
railways  are  in  operation,  under  construction  or  projected.  In 
Mexico  a  short  line  is  in  very  successful  operation. 

Of  the  system  of  narrow  gauge  railways  in  Canada,  New 
Brunswick,  and  British  possessions  in  North  America,  we  shall 
speak  more  at  length,  further  on. 

It  has  been  reserved  to  the  United  States  to  carry  out  most 
fully  this  new  departure,  which  originated,  over  forty  years 
ago,  at  a  secluded  spot  in  North  Wales.  The  object  of  the 
author  is  to  give  now  the  history  of  the  rise,  progress  and  suc¬ 
cess  of  the  narrow  gauge  railway  in  America.  No  such  record 
has  yet  been  published.  By  issuing  it,  it  is  hoped  to  cement 
the  relations  of  narrow  gauge  railways  the  one  to  the  other,  and 
to  exhibit,  in  a  connected  form,  the  work  done  in  the  field  and 
that  is  being  still  carried  on.  Poor’s  Manual  of  U.  S.  Rail- 


12 


roads  does  not  speak,  in  its  preface,  of  the  narrow  gauge  rail¬ 
ways  or  the  new  system  that  is  being  introduced,  and  which  is 
rapidly  gaining  grand  proportions.  Vernon’s  Railroad  Man¬ 
ual  likewise  is  silent,  in  its  editorial  and  prefatory  remarks,  on 
the  railroads  of  the  United  States  and  Dominion  of  Canada, 
in  this  particular;  so  that  it  behooves  us,  as  advocates  and  suc¬ 
cessful  demonstrators,  to  give  to  the  world  the  results  obtained 
since  the  first  narrow  gauge  passenger  railway  ran  its  first  train 
in  America. 

Before  enumerating  and  giving  a  short  sketch,  as  far  as 
practicable,  of  the  narrow  gauge  railways,  a  resume  of  the 
arguments  urged  in  their  favor  may  not  be  out  of  place : 

First.  The  cost  of  constructing  a  railway  is  nearly  as  the 
width  of  its  gauge ;  in  very  rough  countries  the  narrow  gauge 
will  be  greatly  less  than  the  proportion  to  its  width,  whilst  on 
flat,  level  ground  the  proportion  will  be  more ;  but  taking  the 
average  (excluding  rolling  stock,  fencing,  stations  and  tele¬ 
graphs,)  the  cost  will  be  found  to  vary  as  the  gauge. 

Second.  Every  inch  added  to  the  width  of  a  gauge,  beyond 
what  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  traffic,  adds  to  the  cost  of 
construction,  increases  the  proportion  of  dead  weight,  increases 
the  cost  of  working,  and  in  consequence,  increases  the  tariffs 
to  that  extent,  and  by  that  much  reduces  the  useful  effect  of 
the  railway. 

Third.  A  saving,  in  first  cost  of  construction,  equal  to  33 
per  cent.,  is  effected,  owing  to  the  flexibility  of  the  gauge,  in 
allowing  the  road  to  be  built  so  as  to  follow  very  closely  the 
natural  contour  of  the  country,  and  to  the  reduction  in  gradu¬ 
ation,  bridging  and  superstructure.  As  a  comparison  of  cost, 
we  may  take  the  Denver  extension  of  the  Kansas  Pacific  Rail- 
way,  built  under  the  same  engineering  supervision  as  the 
Denver  and  Rio  Grande ;  the  character  of  work  on  the  two 
roads  being  much  the  same,  though  that  of  the  D.  &  R.  G.  is 
somewhat  the  heaviest.  The  Kansas  Pacific  uses  a  rail  weigh¬ 
ing  fifty-six  pounds  per  yard;  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande 
using  rail  weighing  thirty  pounds  per  yard.  Kansas  Pacific 
cost,  per  mile,  with  equipment,  $23,500.  Denver  and  Rio 
Grande  cost,  per  mile,  with  equipment,  $13,500. 


The  first  cost  of  a  good  Macadam  highway  is  $6,000  a  mile, 
and  there  are  many  narrow  gauge  railways  that  have  been 
built  and  equipped  for  $9,000  a  mile,  as  the  annexed  reports 
exhibit. 

The  following  estimate  of  the  probable  cost  of  a  narrow 
gauge  road  over  a  prairie  country,  like  that  around  Chicago, 
was  lately  made  by  the  railroad  contractors,  Messrs.  F.  E. 
Canda  &  Co.,  who  built  the  Cairo  &  St.  Louis  Narrow  Gauge 
Railway. 

COST  PER  MILE — THREE  FEET  GAUGE. 


Grading,  .........  $ 2,200 

Iron  (30  lbs.  to  the  yard),  ......  4,080 

Fish  plates,  fastenings,  etc,  ......  435 

Cross  ties  (2,640),  .......  800 

Bridging  and  Culverts,  .......  400 

Track-laying  and  surfacing,  ......  400 

Engineering,  ........  250 

Right  of  Way,  ........  300 

Station  Houses,  Water  Stations,  etc.,  .....  375 

Sundries,  280 


$9,520 

ROLLING  STOCK. 


For  a  road  100  miles  in  length,  doing  a  coal  traffic  as  well  as 
and  passenger  business,  the  following  will  be  a  fair  equipment : 


12  Freight  locomotives,  ....  $8,000 

4  Passenger  locomotives,  ....  7,000 

300  Coal  cars,  ......  450 

70  Flat  cars,  .....  420 

100  Box  cars,  ......  52° 

10  Passenger  cars,  .....  3,000 

3  Passenger  cars,  second-class,  .  .  .  1,500 

3  Baggage  cars,  .  .  .  ...  1,400 


general  freight 

$96,000 
28,000 
1 3  5, ooo 
29,400 
52,000 
30,000 

4,5°° 

4,200 


Or  $3,791  per  mile.  $379>IO° 

If  a  forty  pound  rail  were  used,  the  cost  would  be  about 
$1200  per  mile  more  than  the  above  estimate;  but  where  the 
grades  are  not  steep,  or  the  traffic  especially  heavy,  a  thirty 
pound  rail  is  deemed  quite  sufficient. 

Comparing  these  figures  with  a  standard  gauge  road  running 
out  of  Chicago,  say  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy,  the 
first  cost  of  which  we  believe  was  about  $20,000  per  mile, 
(owing  to  the -accounts  being  destroyed  by  the  great  fire  of 


H 


October  9,  1871,  the  actual  sum  cannot  be  stated,)  a  saving  is 
effected  through  the  adoption  of  the  narrow  gauge  of  about 
$7,000  per  mile. 

About  these  proportions  may  be  expected  to  hold  good  in 
any  country  not  mountainous.  In  rough  country  it  reaches  50 
per  cent.,  and  in  mountainous  regions  it  amounts  often  to  a 
diffe  ence  between  entire  practicability  and  impossibility,  as 
between  the  two  gauges. 

Mr,  T.  E.  Sickles,  writing  of  the  section  of  the  Colorado 
Central  Railway  that  passes  through  Clear  Creek  Canon,  says  : 
“On  this  13 miles  the  creek  falls  1,700  feet.  The  cost  of 
grading  a  road  bed  through  the  canon  for  a  four  feet  eight  and 
one-half  inch  track,  was  estimated  to  be  $90,000  per  mile.  The 
actual  cost  of  grading  a  road  bed  for  a  three  feet  track ,  has  not 
exceeded  $20,000  per  mile.  This  large  difference  resulting 
from  the  fact  that  the  locations  of  the  two  lines  occupy  differ¬ 
ent  ground.  On  the  broad  gauge  location  the  minimum 
radius  of  curvature  adopted  was  955  feet,  and  on  the  narrow 
gauge  it  is  220  feet.  The  canon  is  so  tortuous  that  the  broad 
gauge  location  would  have  required  in  construction  numerous 
tunnels  and  bridges  across  the  stream,  with  high  embank¬ 
ments,  and  deep,  open  rock  cuttings.  The  adoption  of  the 
narrow  gauge  admitted  of  an  alignment  conforming  approxi¬ 
mately  to  the  windings  of  the  canon,  enabling  a  graded  road 
bed  to  be  obtained  for  less  than  one-quarter  of  the  estimated 
cost  of  a  broad  gauge  road  bed,  with  the  additional  advantage 
that  increase  of  distance  secured  more  favorable  grades.” 

Further,  the  equipment  is  adapted  to  the  gauge  and  the  re¬ 
quirements  of  traffic.  Lighter  locomotives  and  rolling  stock 
being  made  use  of,  entails  consequently  a  lighter  rail. 

Fourth.  The  dead  weight  of  trains,  conveying  either  passen¬ 
gers  or  goods,  is  in  direct  proportion  to  the  gauge  on  which 
they  run  ;  or  in  other  words,  the  proportion  of  non-paying  to 
paying  weight  (as  far  as  this  is  independent  of  management)  is 
increased  exactly  as  the  rails  are  farther  apart ;  because  a  ton 
of  materials  disposed  upon  a  narrow  gauge  is  stronger,  as  re¬ 
gards  its  carrying  power,  than  the  same  weight  when  spread 
out  over  a  wider  basis.  In  proof  of  this  we  need  only  cite  the 


i5 


case  of  the  Festiniog  Railway.  The  wagons  used  upon  it,  for 
carrying  timber,  weigh  only  I2cwt.,  and  they  frequently  carry 
a  load  of  over  3  ]/2  tons,  at  a  speed  of  twelve  miles  an  hour. 
In  other  words,  these  wagons  carry  as  much  as  six  times  their 
own  weight,  whilst  the  best  wagons  on  the  ordinary  English 
gauge  do  not  carry  as  much  as  twice  their  own  weight. 

On  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande  the  freight  cars  weigh  less 
than  three  tons,  and  carry  a  paying  load  of  eight  tons,  being 
nearly  three  times  their  own  weight,  whilst  on  American  stand¬ 
ard  roads  it  is  generally  one  to  one. 


The  following  figures  from  the  Louisville  and  Nashville 
Railroad  Company,  show  the  proportion  of  dead  weight  to 
paying  load  on  their  average  passenger  train  : 


Dead  weight. 

Paying  weight. 

Tons  of  dead 
to  one  of 
paying. 

Main  Stem,  . 

•  163.54 

6.21 

26.33 

Knoxville  Branch, 

115.12 

5-58 

20.63 

Memphis  Line, 

•  153-I9 

4.64 

33-oi 

Nashville  &  Decatur  Div., 

126.43 

3-19 

39.62 

Bardstown  Branch,  . 

99.86 

3-33 

30.00 

Richmond  Branch, 

87.28 

1 .62 

53.88 

Glasgow  Branch, 

65.53 

1.69 

38.12 

The  disproportion  of  dead  weight  to  paying  load  has  be¬ 
come  so  noticeable,  that  the  president  of  the  Master  Mechanics’ 
Association  referred  to  it  in  his  last  annual  report,  from  which 
we  make  the  following  extract : 

Gentlemen,  the  railway  bankruptcy  has  given  rise  to  various  expedients  for 
overcoming  it.  Among  other  remedies,  “narrow-gauge  railways”  have  been 
recommended  as  capable  of  so  much  cheaper  operation  that  their  adoption 
would  work  a  cure.  I  refer  to  this,  not  for  the  purpose  of  discussing  the  ques¬ 
tion  of  gauge,  but  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  where  the  narrow  gauge 
has  been  adopted  the  great  practical  effect  has  been  to  materially  reduce  the 
weight  of  the  rolling  stock. 

Here,  gentlemen,  it  is  well  we  should  pause  for  reflection ;  here  we  are 
touched  in  our  own  department  of  railway  economy;  here  we  are  affected  where 
we  alone  are  concerned,  and  where  we  have  the  whole  responsibility.  If  a  nar¬ 
row-gauge  railway  can  be  operated  at  materially  less  expense  than  one  of  the 
ordinary  gauge,  chiefly  because  the  rolling  stock  in  use  upon  it  is  lighter,  or,  to 
speak  more  correctly,  there  is  less  dead  weight  hauled  upon  the  narrow  gauge 
in  proportion  to  the  paying  weight,  is  there  not  a  remedy  at  once  to  be  applied 
to  reduce  the  cost  of  doing  business  on  railways  of  the  ordinary  gauge  by  reduc¬ 
ing  the  weight  of  the  rolling  stock  ? 


Gentlemen,  during  the  last  twenty  years  railways  of  the  ordinary  gauge  have 
not  changed  in  their  superstructure,  in  their  bridges,  or  in  their  iron,  but  the 
rolling  stock  in  use  upon  them  has  increased  in  weight  from  fifty  to  one  hundred 
per  cent.,  and  the  usual  load  for  a  freight  car  has  increased  fifty  per  cent.  The 
same  bridge  and  the  same  iron,  and  yet  an  enormous  increase  in  the  weight 
which  is  constantly  bearing  down  to  crush  that  iron  and  those  bridges.  Gentle¬ 
men,  can  any  thing  be  more  obvious  than  that  if  the  proper  proportions  formerly 
existed  between  the  superstructure,  the  iron,  and  the  bridges,  and  the  weight  of 
the  rolling  stock,  those  proportions  are  now  entirely  out  of  balance  ? 

If  a  locomotive  that  weighed  twenty-two  tons,  a  freight  car  that  carried  eight 
tons,  and  a  passenger  car  that  weighed  fifteen  tons,  were  suitable  to  the  ordinary 
gauge  of  railways  twenty  years  ago,  how  is  it  that,  without  changing  the  roads, 
we  are  now  operating  on  them  locomotives  weighing  thirty-three  tons  and 
upward,  freight  cars  loading  twelve  tons  and  upward,  and  passenger  cars  varying 
from  twenty  to  thirty-five  tons? 

I  believe,  gentlemen,  that  these  are  essentially  the  facts  of  the  case.  I  believe 
they  have  had  a  material  influence  in  producing  the  present  railway  bankruptcy, 
and  it  seems  to  one  that  it  does  not  speak  well  for  our  influence  as  master 
mechanics  that  we  have  not  been  able  to  do  more  with  railway  managers  in  pre¬ 
venting  the  use  of  rolling  stock  of  such  enormous  weight. 

Fifth .  Traffic  capacity.  The  evidence  furnished  by  several 
commissions,  establishes  beyond  question  that  the  four  feet 
eight  and  a  half  inch  gauge  possesses  a  capacity  far  greater 
than  is  needed. 

The  Massachusetts  Railroad  Commissioners,  in  their  seventh 
annual  report,  state  that  the  average  number  of  passengers  to 
each  train  during  the  last  year  was  66,  and  the  average  number 
of  tons  of  freight  was  64.  The  passenger  trains,  including 
locomotives  and  baggage-cars,  averaged  122^  tons  of  dead 
weight,  and  the  freight  trains,  2\2]/2  tons.  Taking  each  train 
as  consisting  of  four  passenger  cars,  we  have  an  average  of 
16  to  each  car,  when  they  are  constructed  to  carry  5 6.  Con¬ 
sequently,  the  returns  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  railroad 
corporations  of  the  State  haul  1.77  tons  of  rolling  stock  for 
each  passenger  they  carry,  and  3.29  tons  for  each  ton  of 
freight. 

A  narrow  gauge  passenger  car  weighing,  say  15,000  pounds, 
is  constructed  to  carry  36  passengers.  We  will  presume  for 
an  instant  that  they  only  carry  on  the  average  10  passengers, 
being  the  same  proportion  as  16  is  to  56;  an  unproductive 
weight  capacity  (including  engine  and  tender  45,000  pounds,) 
is,  therefore,  carried  of  1.08  tons  for  each  passenger,  being 


1 7 


i, 600  pounds  less  than  the  standard  gauge ;  but  this  is  a  pre¬ 
sumption  that  rarely  or  never  occurs,  the  cars  being  most 
frequently  more  than  half  occupied,  so  that  the  dead  weight 
proportion  is  considerably  reduced. 

Touching  freight  capacity,  the  following  letter  is  produced, 
which  speaks  for  itself.  This  effectually  disposes  of  the  theory 
that  the  narrow  gauge  cannot  compete  with  the  broad  one : 

Denver,  Colorado,  Aug.  20,  1873. 

IV.  IV.  Borst,  Esq.,  Superintendent  Denver  6°  Rio  Grande  Railway  : 

Dear  Sir  : — It  was  with  some  doubts  that  I  applied  to  you  for  transportation 
for  my  Great  World’s  Exposition,  consisting  of  circus,  menagerie  and  aquarium, 
over  your  line,  it  having  been  intimated  to  me  that  great  difficulty  might  be  ex¬ 
perienced  in  obtaining  sufficient  accommodations  over  the  Narrow  Gauge,  and 
even  if  these  were  obtained,  it  would  be  extremely  hazardous,  as  many  of  my 
cages  of  animals  are  very  high.  I  have  had  several  years  experience  in  trans¬ 
porting  my  circus,  etc.,  over  railroads,  and  I  desire  hereby  to  express  to  you  my 
appreciation  of  your  arrangements  made  for  us,  and  to  say  that  never  has  my 
World’s  Exposition  been  moved  more  promptly  or  satisfactorily,  your  cars  being 
ample  to  accommodate  my  stock,  wagons,  cages  and  even  the  elephant,  weighing 
five  tons  and  standing  nine  feet  eight  inches  in  height.  The  stock  and  animals 
have  never  ridden  on  any  line  with  as  much  ease  and  comfort  as  on  your 
A Tarrow  Gauge  road.  Your  cars  being  so  near  the  ground,  renders  them  much 
easier  to  load  than  those  of  the  ordinary  gauge.  I  have  met  with  courteous  and 
business-like  treatment  from  your  employees  and  agents,  and  everything  was  a 
complete  success.  Truly  Yours, 

[Signed]  John  Robinson,  Jr., 

Manager  Old  John  Robinson's  Great  World’s  Exposition. 

Sixth.  Economy  in  management.  In  this  respect  the  narrow 
gauge  railway  shows  a  marked  advantage,  the  cost  of  operat¬ 
ing  being  about  twenty  per  cent,  under  that  of  a  standard  gauge 
road.  The  Utah  Northern  Railway  reports  expenses  as  56.2 
per  cent,  of  the  gross  earnings  ;  the  Toledo  and  Maumee,  as  50 
per  cent.;  the  Toronto  and  Nississing,  61.25  Per  cenU  tlie 
Mineral  Range,  63.56  per  cent.  For  the  comparison  of  a  nar¬ 
row  gauge  railway  with  one  of  standard  width,  we  can  take 
the  Cairo  and  St.  Louis  and  the  St.  Louis  and  Southeastern, 
which  run  parallel  for  some  distance.  Owing  to  the  competi¬ 
tion  of  the  narrow  gauge,  the  St.  Louis  and  Southeastern  was 
obliged,  during  1875,  to  pass  its  interest.  Comment  is  un¬ 
necessary. 

In  comparing  the  wear  and  tear  of  the  two  gauges,  the  ad- 


2 


1 8 


vantage  is  immensely  in  favor  of  the  narrow  gauge,  with  its 
light  machinery  and  rolling  stock.  The  ordinary  standard 
gauge  passenger  car,  weighing  35,000  pounds  empty,  ham¬ 
mers  the  rail  joints  with  4,375  pounds  on  each  wheel,  when 
loaded  and  hauled  over  the  rail  at  twenty-five  or  thirty  miles 
per  hour;  the  weight  of  the  blow  is  enormous,  and  terribly 
destructive  to  the  superstructure. 

A  first-class  narrow  gauge  passenger  car  weighs  15,000 
pounds,  empty,  and  consequently  only  hammers  the  rail  with 
1,875  pounds  per  wheel. 

The  same  truth  applies  to  locomotives.  A  thirty-ton  loco¬ 
motive,  and  its  loaded  tender  weighing  about  seventeen  tons, 
or  a  total  of  forty-seven  tons,  will  exert  a  pressure  of  nearly 
six  tons  on  each  driving  wheel.  When  driven  at  a  high  speed 
the  strain  upon  the  track  is  terribly  destructive. 

The  narrow  gauge  railway  uses  locomotives  weighing  from 
eight  tons  up  to  engines  weighing  forty  two  tons.  The  weight 
being  distributed  over  the  driving  wheels,  thereby  gaining  the 
necessary  adhesion  and  requisite  power,  a  greater  paying  load 
can  be  hauled,  either  on  a  level  or  up  a  grade,  than  on  the 
broad  gauge. 

To  exemplify  this,  Mr.  Richard  B.  Osborne,  a  civil  engineer, 
has  prepared  the  following  table,  assuming  the  very  largest 
class  of  locomotives  put  on  the  three  feet  gauge,  with  cylinders 
of  fifteen  by  eighteen,  thirty-six  inch  drivers  and  thirty  tons 
weight,  and  with  a  tractive  power,  on  a  level,  equal  to  1,460 
tons,  so  as  to  compare  it  directly  with  an  engine  of  equal  power 
on  the  standard  road. 


On  a  level — gross  weight  of  train  1460  tons. 

Tons. 

The  3  feet  engine  with  399  tons  of  cars  will  haul  of  coal,  .  .  1064 

The  4  feet  8)4  inch  engine  with  566  tons  of  cars  will  haul  of  coal,  .  900 

On  a  maximum  grade  of  26  4-10  feet,  gross  weight  being  j8y  tons  : 

Tons. 

The  3  feet  engine  with  160  tons  of  cars  will  haul  of  coal,  .  .  427 

The  4  feet  8)4  inch  engine  with  226  tons  of  cars  will  haul  of  coal,  .  361 

On  a  maximum  grade  of  40  feet,  gross  zoeight  being  444  tons  : 

Tons. 

The  3  feet  engine  with  121  tons  of  cars  will  haul  of  coal,  .  -  323 

The  4  feet  8)4  inch  engine  with  17 1  tons  of  cars  will  haul  of  coal,  .  273 


*9 


These  trains,  it  will  be  seen,  correspond  in  gross  zv  eight :  the 
three  feet  gauge  by  its  less  weight  of  cars  transporting  about 
seventeen  per  cent,  more  productive  load  than  the  standard 
gauge. 

On  a  gradient  of  80  feet  per  mile,  gross  weight  252  tons  : 

Tons . 

The  3  feet  engine  with  70  tons  of  cars,  will  haul  of  coal,  .  .  182 

The  4  feet  8^  inch  engine  with  97  tons  of  cars,  will  haul  of  coal,  -  155 

From  the  foregoing  we  learn: 

First.  That  an  engine  of  3  feet  gauge  can  take  a  greater  num¬ 
ber  of  tons  of  freight  in  its  cars  against  the  same  grade;  and 

Second.  That  it  will  haul  the  same  number  of  tons  of  load 
in  its  cars  up  steeper  grades  than  the  engines  of  the  4  feet  8  ]/2 
inch  gauge,  with  its  loaded  cars,  can  at  all  accomplish. 

We  have  shown  before  that  the  load  of  freight  on  the  4  feet 
8*4  inch  against  a  26 yo  grade  is  361  tons,  and  that  this  freight 
load  can  be  increased  on  the  3  feet  gauge  to  427  tons  against 
a  like  grade;  so  also  can  it  be  stated  that  the  freight  load  of 
361  tons,  not  being  increased  on  the  3  feet  road,  it  could  be 
taken  by  the  narrow  gauge  engine  over  33  feet  grades  instead 
of  26t\  feet.  A  gain  in  gradient  obtained  of  25  per  cent,  by 
the  adoption  of  the  3  feet  gauge. 

So  likewise  the  freight  load  of  the  4  feet  8*/2  inch  engine  on 
a  gradient  of  80  feet  being  155  tons;  that  of  a  three  feet  would 
be  182  tons.  But  giving  the  3  feet  engine  the  load  only  of  its 
rival,  or  the  155  tons,  it  will  transport  it  over  grades  of  95  feet, 
or  about  20  per  cent,  greater. 

It  seems  then  clear  that  while  the  steam  power  of  the  3  feet 
gauge  engine  is  no  greater  than  the  other,  and  keeping  the 
same  paying  loads  as  the  wider  gauge,  the  smaller"  road  can 
overcome  gradients  from  20  to  25  per  cent,  greater.  ' 

Under  the  caption  of  “  Locomotives”  will  be  found"  some 
further  remarks  on  the  power  of  narrow  gauge  engines.  We 
therefore  leave  this  subject  for  the  present. 

Seventh.  Safety.  During  the  early  discussion  of  the  rela¬ 
tive  merits  of  the  standard  and  narrow  gauge  railway,  the  ques¬ 
tion  as  to  safety  on  the  narrow  gauge  was  propounded,  and  it 
was  boldly  asserted  at  the  time  that  it  would  be  extremely  haz¬ 
ardous  to  ride  in  cars  the  wheels  of  which  were  only  three  feet 


20 


apart,  and  that  if  they  were  hauled  at  a  velocity  equal  to  the 
cars  on  the  ordinary  gauge,  it  would  be  courting  certain  danger. 
It  was  the  old  argument,  in  another  form,  against  the  first  intro¬ 
duction  of  steam  locomotion.  That  the  hypothesis  was  falla¬ 
cious  is  evidenced  in  the  fact  that  since  the  first  narrow  gauge 
train  commenced  running  in  America ,  there  has  been  no  serious 
accident  entailing  great  loss  of  life  reported.  We  leave  it  to 
our  readers  to  compare  this  statement  with  the  record  of  stand¬ 
ard  gauge  railroads. 


4 


CONSTRUCTION  OF  NARROW  GAUGE  RAILWAYS. 


“  The  first  object  for  consideration  in  examining  a  project  for 
a  railway  is  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  traffic  to  be  provided 
for.  If  this  is  large  and  of  a  character  to  demand  high  speed, 
the  work  must  be  adapted  to  bear  the  contemplated  service. 
If  a  light  traffic ,  and  especially  with  a  lower  rate  of  speed ,  is 
anticipated ,  much  may  be  saved  in  the  expense  of  construction , 
and  also  in  the  expense  of  operating  the  railway  by  adapting  the 
works  to  the  service  to  be  performed .”  Such  are  the  opening 
words  of  a  book  on  railway  property  published  sixteen  years 
ago,  before  a  narrower  gauge  than  four  feet  eight  and  a-half 
inches  was  contemplated,  and  the  words  we  have  italicised  are 
peculiarly  applicable  to  the  narrow  gauge  system.  In  fact, 
they  are  the  text  which  its  exponents  have  always  quoted. 

A  narrow  gauge  railway  should  not  be  built  where  a  heavy 
traffic  is  expected  or  a  high  rate  of  speed  demanded,  as  under 
those  circumstances  the  standard  gauge  should  be  laid  down, 
but  where  a  country  has  to  be  developed  by  a  railway  trans¬ 
porting  its  products  to  a  market,  and  where  the  development 
will  take  time,  and  the  community  are  unable  to  raise  the  capi¬ 
tal  for  and  support  a  standard  gauge,  then  the  narrow  gauge 
railway  is  the  one  to  adopt.  If  these  principles  are  not  adhered 
to  at  the  outset,  complications  will  arise  which  could  have  been 
avoided  at  the  first,  and  we  may  safely  assert  that  if  many  of 
the  railways  now  in  default  had  been  constructed  of  the  narrow 
gauge,  the  country  would  not  be  suffering  from  the  depression 
which  commenced  after  the  panic  of  1873. 

It  is  argued  by  those  opposed  to  the  narrow  gauge,  that 
light  standard  gauge  railways  can  be  constructed  aiid  equipped 
for  the  same  cost  as  narrow  gauge  roads  ;  and  that  break  of 

gauge  and  transhipment  would  thus  be  obviated.  An  exami- 

(21  ) 


22 


nation  of  the  argument,  shows  that  the  earthworks  for  a  light 
standard  gauge  railway  cannot  be  less  than  those  of  a  railway 
of  same  gauge  doing  a  heavy  through  business,  as  the  dimen¬ 
sions  of  cuts,  banks,  and  tunnels  are  not  reduced.  There  is, 
therefore,  no  saving  under  this  head.  In  bridging  and  trest- 
ling  a  small  saving  might  be  effected,  provided  that  the  cars 
for  the  light  standard  gauge  are  only  permitted  to  pass  them. 
Cross  ties  would  remain  of  same  dimensions.  In  iron  a  forty- 
five  pound  rail  could  be  adopted,  which  would  save  a  trifle. 
In  rolling  stock,  the  greatest  saving  could  be  effected,  but  not 
to  the  extent  that  it  is  urged  ;  and  in  comparison  with  the 
narrow  gauge,  would  be  much  weaker. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  light  standard  gauge  railway  would 
run  its  cars  over  its  main  line  connection,  and  endeavor  to 
prevent  them  being  made  up  in  trains  with  heavier  rolling 
stock — an  impossibility,  and  the  result  would  be  the  demoli¬ 
tion  of  the  weaker.  Or  goods  received  on  main  line  in  a 
heavy  car  are  consigned  to  some  point  on  the  light  railway, 
when  either  the  superstructure  must  be  injured  or  tranship¬ 
ment  take  place.  There  is,  therefore,  no  real  economy  in 
their  construction,  whilst  in  the  narrow  gauge  a  saving  of  33% 
can  be  effected. 

The  duty  of  location  is  a  very  important  one  too  often  over¬ 
looked.  The  alignment  being  diverted  for  the  gratification  of 
individuals  whereby  the  public  suffer.  Due  consideration  must 
also  be  given  to  the  general  line  of  the  trade  of  the  district 
which  the  railway  is  to  pass  through,  as  if  it  crosses  it  at  or 
near  right  angles  it  is  seldom  a  success.  In  this  respect  we 
quote  the  following  from  the  report  of  the  Erie  Railway  in 
1853.  “Experience  has  now  demonstrated  that  no  more  safe 
or  profitable  investment  can  be  made  in  this  country  than  in  a 
well  located  and  well  managed  railway.” 

In  the  proper  location  of  the  line  the  grades,  curves  and 
earthwork  require  very  careful  attention,  especially  when  the 
railway  is  to  be  of  narrow  gaugeand  constructed  economically. 
We  shall  consider  these  in  their  order. 

GRADES  AND  GRADING. 

The  narrow  gauge  aims  at  following  as  closely  as  possible 


23 


the  contour  of  the  ground  over  which  it  passes,  thereby 
avoiding  the  expensive  cuts,  and  fills,  and  tunnels  which  so 
much  advance  the  cost  of  construction.  It  has  been  frequently 
stated  that  a  narrow  gauge  locomotive  with  its  train  of  cars 
can  surmount  much  steeper  grades  than  the  standard  gauge 
locomotives.  This  is  only  true  as  regards  paying  load,  which 
we  have  exemplified  on  page  18.  We  would  recommend  that 
moderate  grades  be  only  used,  and  where  it  is  necessary  to 
have  long  steep  grades  that  short  levels  be  introduced  so  that 
a  continuous  grade  may  be  avoided.  By  this  means  the  engines 
will  be  relieved  and  the  summit  more  easily  attained. 

One  of  the  most  important  points  that  require  attention  in 
grading,  is  the  drainage,  this  being  essential  to  a  good  rail¬ 
way;  as  if  this  is  not  provided  for,  the  track  will  settle 
unequally,  and  a  disagreeable  rolling  motion  will  be  experienced 
when  riding  over  it,  which  imparts  a  feeling  of  insecurity  and 
gives  the  railway  a  bad  name.  When  the  line  passes  over  com¬ 
paratively  level  country,  it  is  always  prudent  to  secure  good 
drainage  by  raising  the  grade  a  few  inches  above  the  surface 
ground,  even  if  first  expense  is  increased.  It  will  also  avoid 
the  constant  tamping  and  surfacing  which  would  otherwise 
occur.  For  width  of  road-beds  in  cuts  twelve  feet  is  found  to 
answer  and  on  banks  ten  feet  is  sufficient 

CURVATURE. 

This  feature  in  the  construction  of  a  narrow  gauge  railway, 
to  a  great  extent,  controls  the  reduction  in  earthwork  and  tun¬ 
neling,  and  demands  the  fullest  attention.  We  cannot  too 
highly  impress  the  necessity  of  properly  laying  them  out  as 
they  affect  the  wear  of  rolling  stock  and  safety  of  travel  owing 
to  their  being  so  much  sharper  than  on  the  standard  gauge. 
Henck’s  Field  Book  so  fully  treats  on  curvature,  that  it  is  un¬ 
necessary  to  go  into  detail  on  this  head,  but  we  present  the 
following  formula  originated  by  G.  H.  Mann,  C.  E.,  which  will 
be  found  useful  in  laying  out  curves  of  small  radius,  as  the 
method  of  laying  out  by  deflection  is  often  inconvenient,  owing 
to  the  chords  being  short  and  inconveniently  close  to  the  in¬ 
strument. 


24 


The  random  line  T 
e  is  first  run,  and  the 
angle  I  found  by  meas¬ 
uring  I  e  T  and  I  T  e, 
and  taking  their  sum 
from  i8o°.  Then  I  T 
T'  determined,  and  the 
chord  T  T'  located. 
On  this  middle  point, 
c'  is  taken  as  the  sta¬ 
tion.  Then  if  we  lay 
off  any  line  c’  b ,  mak¬ 
ing  an  angle  I  with 
the  chord,  .  the  dis¬ 
tance  on  this  line  to 
the  circle  will  be 


d=zbc'  =  l/R2 
R  =  radius  of  circle  = 


chord 


h 2  cos  I  —  h  sin  I. 
T  c' 


or 


sin  I  T  T/  2  sin  I  T  T/  ’ 


h  =  c'  C  j  chord  X  tan  ITT7; 
or  T  c'  X  tan  I  T  T/. 

This  value  (i)  may  be  determined  as  follows  : 

x2  -}- y2  =.  R2  .  .  .  (2). 

x  —  d cos  I ,y  =  d  sin  I  -f-  h. 

(2)  becomes 

d2  cos2  I  d2  sin2  I  -f-  //2  -f-  2  d //sin  I  =  R2. 
d2  -)-  2  dh  sin  I  =  R2  —  h 2 . 


d  -J-  h  sin  I=|/^2 — //2  -|-  h2  sin2  I. 
d  =  X R2  —  h2  cos2  I  —  h  sin  I. 

Or  we  may,  if  stakes  are  to  be  set  at  equal  distances  along  the  curve,  proceed 
as  follows : 


Let  T  b  =  V  <)  T  c  b  —  a,  b  T  c*  =  f$. 

I 

Then  a°  =  - —  X  360°,  and 

2  7T  R 


%a°  =  <)  Ted  or  iTI  —  — —  X  9°°  — 

7 r  K 

—  X  28°  39' ;  then 
R 


p=lTT'  —  \a.  d2  Tc/2  +  T^2  _  2  T  c  T  b  cos  p. 


or  if  c  =  chord,  d—  V \  c2  l2  —  c  b  cos  [3 ; 
and  angle  I  is  found  thus  : 

.  _  l  sin  B 

sin  I  = - -. 

a 


25 


It  will  be  noticed  that  the  exact  length  of  each  arc  is  laid 
out,  and  no  error  arises  from  the  chord  being  taken  equal  to 
the  arc.  For  curves  of  small  radius,  and  where  the  length  of 
arc  is  required  to  be  quite  small,  this  method  has  the  advan¬ 
tage  that  the  instrumental  work  can  be  done  very  rapidly. 

Regarding  the  proper  elevation  of  outer  rail  on  curves,  I  find 
it  to  be  the  practice  on  some  roads  to  leave  the  degree  of  eleva¬ 
tion  to  the  section  men,  they  putting  them  up  according  to  taste. 
The  consequence  is  that  some  curves  are  nearly  “flat”  or  level, 
while  others  are  “stuck  clear  up,”  and  cars  will  pass  around 
some  of  them  very  smoothly  at  high  rates  of  speed,  while  on 
others  the  oscillation  is  fearful.  Recent  observation  discloses 
the  fact  that  on  a  curve  properly  elevated  there  is  no  oscillation , 
however  great  the  speed,  providing  always  the  track  is  in  good 
surface  and  line.  If  the  elevation  is  too  great,  the  wheel  flanges 
will  be  thrown  against  the  inner  rail  with  great  force  at  high 
velocities.  This  may  be  accounted  for  in  various  ways. 

One  prominent  engineer  charges  it  to  the  cone  of  the  wheels, 
and  claims  that  the  coning  of  wheels  is  an  erroneous  practice. 
This  needs  further  investigation  before  mechanics  will  consent 
to  drop  the  cone,  the  prevailing  opinion  being  that  the  plan  is 
correct.  The  idea  is  that  in  passing  around  a  curve,  the  larger 
diameter  of  the  wheel  treads  the  rail  on  the  outer  side,  while 
that  on  the  inner,  having  a  less  distance  to  travel,  runs  on  its 
smaller  diameter,  which  seems  to  accord  with  both  theory  and 
practice.  The  evil  ascribed  to  the  cone  as  producing  oscillation 
is  doubtless  chargeable  to  imperfections  in  the  track.  This  is 
apparent  from  the  fact  that  there  is  no  oscillation  on  a  perfect  track 
071  curves .  In  running  at  high  velocities  on  curves,  a  slight 
imperfection  in  the  line  has  a  tendency  to  throw  the  flange 
against  the  inner  rail,  which  of  course  puts  the  inner  wheel  on 
its  largest  diameter  on  the  short  side  of  the  curve,  where  it  should 
not  be.  The  reaction  of  the  powerful  side  thrust,  together  with 
the  natural  tendency  of  the  cars  to  fall  on  the  outer  rail,  brings 
it  suddenly  back  to  its  former  bearing,  when  there  is  another 
reaction,  which  is  greatly  assisted  by  an  excessive  elevation  of 
the  outer  rail  by  the  force  of  gravity.  Thus  we  see  that  by  the 
combined  action  of  gravity,  centrifugal  force  and  momentum, 


26 


aided  by  imperfection  in  the  permanent  way,  oscillation  will 
continue  entirely  around  the  curve  when  the  wheel  is  once 
thrown  from  its  proper  place  on  the  rail  by  a  single  imperfec¬ 
tion  in  the  track  on  first  encountering  the  curve,  although  the 
rest  of  the  curve  may  be  in  perfect  condition,  The  same  im¬ 
perfection  in  the  permanent  way  that  will  throw  the  flanges 
against  the  inner  rail  on  an  elevated  curve  will  do  the  same 
thing  on  a  “  flat”  curve,  but  with  somewhat  diminished  force, 
owing  to  the  lack  of  aid  from  gravity,  as  in  the  case  of  the  ele¬ 
vated  rail.  But  while  the  inward  end  thrust  is  made  more 
forcible  by  the  action  of  gravity  on  the  elevated  curve,  that  is 
to  say  by  its  (the  axle)  running  down  hill,  the  reaction  on  the 
flat  curve  is  greater  and  throws  the  wheel  flange  against  the 
outer  rail  with  greater  force,  as  the  motion  is  on  a  plane  instead 
of  on  an  incline  or  up-hill.  In  this  way  the  danger  of  derail¬ 
ment  is  far  greater  on  the  flat  than  on  the  elevated  curve.  A 
defective  joint,  a  worn  flange,  or  any  slight  imperfection,  may 
cause  the  wheel  to  mount  by  the  undue  force  with  which  the 
wheel  flange  is  thrown  against  the  outer  rail  by  the  centrifugal 
force  and  reaction  above  mentioned.  As  the  outer  rail  is  the 
guide  for  the  wheels,  it  is  important  that  it  be  kept  in  a  condi¬ 
tion  as  nearly  perfect  as  possible,  both  in  regard  to  its  surface 
and  line,  as  well  as  its  elevation.  It  is  also  noticeable  that  on 
most  roads  the  rails  are  not  sufficiently  bent  on  sharp  curves, 
which  causes  excessive  oscillation  and  wear,  and  this  should 
receive  greater  attention  than  is  usually  the  case.  The  proper 
way  is  to  commence  the  elevation  ioo  feet  before  reaching  the 
P.  C.  This  gives  an  easy  approach  to  the  curve,  as  the  wheel 
flange  always  follows  the  higher  rail  on  straight  line,  and  by 
reaching  the  curve  with  a  gentle  elevation,  the  wheels  get  their 
proper  position  against  the  outer  rail,  when  they  will  keep  it 
entirely  around  the  curve  unless  forced  inward  by  causes  above 
mentioned. 

CROSS  TIES. 

Ties  5  inches  by  7  inches,  by  7  feet  long,  and  placed  two  feet 
apart  from  centre  to  centre,  give  sufficient  bearing  surface. 

RAILS. 

The  weight  of  iron  is  governed  by  the  heaviest  weight  on 


27 


any  single  wheel ;  this  is  invariably  on  driving  wheels  of  en¬ 
gines,  and  by  the  amount  of  traffic.  Some  narrow  gauge  rail¬ 
ways  have  found  a  25  pound  iron  rail  sufficient,  while  others 
use  a  56  pound  rail,  or  lay  down  a  40  pound  steel  rail  at 
first.  The  majority  use  30  and  35  pound  iron  rail.  A  few 
companies,  unable  to  purchase  iron  at  the  outset,  have 
availed  themselves  of  wooden  rails,  made  of  hard  maple,  set 
into  the  ties,  which  are  notched  to  receive  them,  and  made  fast 
by  wooden  keys.  The  rails  are  3  y2  inches  by  6  inches,  and  as 
long  as  they  can  be  got,  and  are  spliced  with  a  lap  joint,  held 
fast  by  two  bolts.  The  wear  of  rails  thus  far  has  not  been 
sufficient  to  furnish  statistics  in  reference  to  their  life  on  grades 
and  curves. 

TRACK-LAYING. 

Mr.  Huntingdon  has  so  tersely  written  on  this  subject,  that 
we  give  his  words  entire : 

Track-laying  is  generally  performed  in  a  careless  manner,  with  little  or  no 
regard  to  wear  and  tear  of  track  and  rolling  stock.  The  main  object  in  view 
being  to  get  over  the  ground  as  fast  as  possible,  so  as  to  put  the  road  in  opera¬ 
tion,  when  all  defects  may  be  remedied.  This  might  be  well  enough  if  the 
remedy  was  sure  to  be  applied,  but  this  is  very  seldom  the  case,  and  track  once 
poorly  laid,  is  generally  allowed  to  remain  so  until  safety  demands  a  thorough 
overhauling,  which  can  only  be  done  at  great  expense  and  inconvenience.  In¬ 
deed,  there  is  no  remedy  for  some  of  the  defects  of  poor  track  laying  after  the 
road  is  put  in  operation.  Of  course  the  ballasting  can  be  done,  the  track  put  in 
good  surface  and  line,  the  ditches  and  water  courses  cleaned  out,  and  the  road 
put  in  good  running  order,  for  th o.  present ;  but  if  the  ties  are  improperly  laid, 
crooked  iron  laid  on  a  straight  line,  if  the  iron  is  not  sufficiently  curved  on 
curves,  or  is  allowed  to  run  ahead  on  curves,  the  inner  rail  getting  so  far  ahead 
as  to  bring  the  joint-ties  diagonally  across  the  track,  there  is  no  remedy,  except 
to  tear  up  the  track  and  relay  it. 

■*  ij 

/  A  >  //i' 


PROGRESS  OF  NARROW  GAUGE  RAILWAYS. 


- ♦ - 

Although  narrow  gauge  railways  in  the  United  States  are 
comparatively  new,  it  being  only  five  years  since  the  ground 
was  broken — in  1871 — for  the  initial  line,  the  Denver  &  Rio 
Grande  Railway,  yet  a  large  amount  of  mileage  can  be  shown 
as  completed  and  under  speedy  construction,  notwithstanding 
the  strong  opposition  and  prejudice  against  them  at  their  first 
introduction.  That  the  opposition  is  declining  and  the  preju¬ 
dice  being  overcome,  is  evident  in  the  fact  that  such  first-class 
standard  gauge  lines  as  the  Pennsylvania,  the  Lehigh  Valley, 
the  Philadelphia,  Wilmington  and  Baltimore,  and  the  Memphis 
and  Charleston,  recognize  in  narrow  gauge  railways  important 
adjuncts  and  feeders  to  their  trunk  line,  and  have  assisted  in 
their  completion  by  either  supplying  superstructure  or  equip¬ 
ment,  or  guaranteeing,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Philadelphia,  Wil¬ 
mington  and  Baltimore,  and  Baltimore  Central  to  the  Peach- 
bottom  Narrow  Gauge  Railway,  a  commission  of  25  per  cent, 
for  the  first  year,  and  20  per  cent,  for  the  second  year,  etc.,  on 
all  passengers  or  freight  carried  by  them,  which  is  recarried 
over  the  Peachbottom  road  from  their  country,  or  consigned 
from  Philadelphia  or  Baltimore  to  points  in  the  country  reached 
over  the  Peachbottom. 

That  the  attention  of  the  public  has  been  directed  to  the 
matter — a  pressing  want  being  felt  that  by  some  practicable 
means  cheaper  modes  of  transportation  may  be  obtained,  more 
particularly  in  and  for  those  sections  not  now  furnished  with  a 
ready  means  of  forwarding,  to  a  market,  the  comparatively 
small  amount  of  surplus  available  for  export,  but  having  such 
means  at  command  could  and  would  rapidly  develop  resources 
which  otherwise  must  remain  dormant — is  evidenced  by  the 
annexed  table  giving  the  mileage  constructed  during  each  of 
the  five  years  1871-5  : 


(28) 


29 


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Narrow  Gauge  Railways  in  Operation  (  Continued .) 


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32 


The  late  John  Edgar  Thomson,  when  conversing  with  a  gen¬ 
tleman  who  was  requesting  his  opinion  on  the  narrow  gauge 
question,  stated,  “that  were  he  now  building  certain  of  the 
branch  roads  of  that  great  highway,  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad, 
(one  now  carrying  annually  10,000,000  tons  of  freight,)  he 
would  make  them  3  feet  instead  of  4  feet  8 y2  inch  gauge.” 

After  such  an  endorsement  by  so  celebrated  an  engineer  and 
financier,  whose  whole  life  had  been  devoted  to  the  study  of 
railroading  in  its  several  departments,  and  with  the  past  few 
years  as  a  basis  to  stand  upon,  we  believe  that  narrow  gauge 
railways  will  be  “a  power  in  the  land,”  and  that  they  will  rev¬ 
olutionize  certain  districts  in  America,  and  whole  countries  in 
other  parts  of  the  world,  and  be  the  means  of  making  fruitful 
the  barren  places. 

In  support  of  the  statement  just  made,  we  produce  two 
tables  taken  from  an  official  report,  showing  by  counties  the 
progress  of  Colorado  in  population  and  wealth  from  1870  to 
1874.  The  counties  in  bold  type  are  those  through  which  the 
Denver  and  Rio  Grande  Railway  runs.  It  will  be  seen  that 
their  development  is  trebled  and  quadrupled.  The  Denver 
and  Rio  Grande  was  begun  in  1870. 

POPULATION. 


COUNTY. 

Arapahoe .. 

Bent . 

Boulder . . 

Clear  Creek 

Conejos . 

Costilla . 

Douglas..., 
El  Paso.... 
Fremont.. 

Gilpin . 

Greenwood  . 
Huerfano  ... 
Jefferson  .... 

Lake . 

Larimer . 

Las  Animas, 

Park . . 

Pueblo . 

Saguache  ... 

Summit . 

Weld . 


CENSUS  1870. 
.  6,829  • 

.  592. 

.  L939- 

.  L596-. 

.  2,504.. 

.  1  >779 -• 

.  L388  . 

.  987-. 

.  1,064.. 

.  5,49°-* 

.  5i°- 

.  2,250.. 

.  L390-- 

.  522. 

.  838. 

.  4,276. 

.  447  • 

.  2,265. 

.  3°4- 

.  258. 

.  1,636. 


CENSUS  1873. 

.  25,000 

.......  3,850 

.  5,325 

.  5,5°° 

.  3,800 

.  3,35o 

.  3,ioo 

.  3,45o 

.  3,300 

• .  7,5°° 

.  600 

.  3,350 

.  6,230 

.  875 

.  3,250 

.  5,78o 

.  2,800 

.  8,950 

.  2,000 

.  1,050 

.  5,IQ0 


Totals 


39,864 


104,860 


33 


ASSESSMENT  LIST. 


COUNTY.  1870. 

Arapahoe .  $4,731,830 

Bent .  35L248 

Boulder .  1,121,972. 

Clear  Creek. .  1,100,112. 

Conejos,  including  La  Plata  .  265,702 

Costilla,  including  Rio  Grande .  118,062. 

Douglas  .  574,397 

Elbert . 

El  Paso .  524,965 

Fremont  .  375,95° 

Gilpin .  2,000,000 

Greenwood .  446,924 

Huerfano . . .  324,932. 

Jefferson  .  1,034,738 

Lake .  172,917 

Larimer .  332,510, 

Las  Animas .  457,932 

Park .  175,55° 

Pueblo .  857,811 

Saguache .  129,656 

Summit .  123,926 

Weld .  954,36i 


1874. 

. $15,088,085 

.  2,172,267 

.  2,547,964 

.  •  1,485,008 

.  I4L4I5 

.  528,249 

.  i,47°,636 

.  i,675,76o 

.  3,160,323 

.  1,314,695 

.  2,322,342 

Abolished  in  1874. 

.  702,856 

.  2,034,52^ 

.  250,998 

.  905,944 

.  1,186,482 

.  795,707 

.  3,784,348 

.  599,308 

.  158,722 

.  2,063,166 


Totals . $16,015,521 . $44,388,804 

The  Secretary  of  the  Utah  Western  Railway  writes  :  “The 
promoters  of  broad  gauge  roads  here,  as  elsewhere,  try  to 
retard  the  narrow  gauge  as  much  as  possible ;  but  in  spite  of 
this  the  broad  gauge  has  built  only  87  miles  since  May  17, 
1869,  while  there  have  been  built  about  200  miles  of  narrow 
gauge  since  August  23,  1871,  with  a  very  good  prospect  of 
making  a  grand  union  road  during  the  coming  summer,  to 
unite  most  of  the  narrow  gauge  roads  in  Utah.” 

On  a  previous  page  the  subject  of  converting  broad  gauge 
lines  into  narrow  gauge  railways,  in  certain  instances,  was 
briefly  mentioned.  It  has  been  demonstrated  that  a  narrow 
gauge  railway  will  be  remunerative  where  a  broad  gauge  can¬ 
not,  owing  to  its  much  larger  expenditures  ;  it  is  therefore  not 
to  be  wondered  at  that  the  directors  of  such,  being  convinced 
of  the  efficiency  and  lesser  expenditure  of  the  narrow  gauge 
railway,  should  convert  their  line  into  one  by  altering  the 
3 


34 


gauge  and  disposing  of  the  rolling  stock  for  other,  seeing  that 
if  this  is  not  accomplished,  their  railway  must  be  run  at  a  loss, 
or  else  train  service  must  be  discontinued.  Or  again,  where 
certain  short  lines,  built  on  the  standard  gauge,  connect  with 
trunk  lines,  built  on  the  narrow  gauge,  and  it  is  expedient  to 
overcome  break  of  gauge,  and  consequent  transhipment,  that 
such  lines  be  converted  into  3  feet  ones;  or  further,  where  the 
surveys  being  made  for  a  standard  gauge,  the  original  intention 
being  to  construct  a  line  4  feet  8*4  inches  wide,  subsequent 
consideration  on  the  probable  traffic  and  consequent  revenue, 
induced  the  construction  of  a  narrow  gauge  railway. 

The  following  railways  are  mentioned  as  an  example  of  each 
proposition  : 

The  Chester  and  Lenoir  Narrow  Gauge  Railway,  formerly 
the  Kings  Mountain  Broad  Gauge  Railroad. 

The  San  Rafael  and  San  Quentin,  leased  by  the  North  Paci¬ 
fic  Coast  Narrow  Gauge  Railway,  and  converted  into  one  of  3 
feet. 

The  Kalamazoo,  Lowell  and  Northern  Michigan  Railway, 
organized  for  standard  gauge,  and  to  be  constructed  of  narrow 
gauge. 

Of  the  roads  mentioned  in  the  preceding  table,  the  following 
have  the  amount  of  mileage  set  opposite  each  respectively 


under  construction  : 

MILES. 

Worcester  and  Shrewsbury  Extension .  16 

Camden,  Gloucester,  and  Ephraim . 6 

Peachbottom .  5 

St.  Louis,  Bloomfield,  and  Louisville . . .  60 

Chicago,  Millington  and  Western .  100 

H  avana,  Rantoul  and  Eastern .  90 

Farmers’  Union .  12 

West  End .  7 

Wyandotte,  Kansas  City,  &  N.  W .  5 

Denver  and  Rio  Grande . 50 

Golden  City  and  South  Platte .  2 

Utah  Northern . 20 

North  Pacific  Coast . 25 

San  Luis  Obispo . 3 

Chester  and  Lenoir .  20 

Texas  Western .  25 


35 


During  1876  a  very  large  amount  of  narrow  gauge  mileage 
will  be  completed,  as  the  railways  in  operation  have  fully  dem¬ 
onstrated  their  capacity  in  every  class  of  traffic,  and  their 
economical  operation  will  induce  capital  to  seek  them  as 
investments.  They  should  however  be  constructed  from 
stock  subscriptions,  paid  by  the  community  along  the  route, 
and  those  interested  in  the  development  of  the  region,  who 
are  the  interested  parties  in  the  operation  of  the  railway. 
The  most  conservative  financiers  recommend  that  the  whole 
cost  of  the  road  should  be  so  divided  between  the  stockholders 
and  the  bondholders  that  not  more  than  one-fourth  of  the 
total  amount  should  be  raised  by  bonds,  while  three-fourths 
should  be  raised  by  stock  subscriptions,  aided  by  outside 
help.  Floating  debts  should  never  be  too  heavy — at  any  sac¬ 
rifice  a  new  railroad  should  place  its  debt  beyond  contingen¬ 
cies.  The  late  Chief  Justice  Chase,  when  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  in  1861,  laid  down  this  principle  in  a  striking  form. 
It  was  essential,  he  said,  for  a  large  debtor  to  maintain  control 
over  his  indebtedness.  It  is  especially  needful  for  railroads  to 
get  such  control.  And  of  the  legitimate  rules  for  doing  so,  the 
chief  one  is  this  :  To  avoid  demand  obligations,  and  to  con¬ 
vert,  as  rapidly  as  possible,  their  floating  debt  into  long  bonds. 

On  the  next  page  we  give  a  list  of  the  companies  in  the 
most  forward  state,  that  have  been  recently  heard  from ;  also 
their  total  projected  mileage,  and  their  mileage  under  con¬ 
struction,  and  the  address  to  which  communications  should  be 
sent,  prefacing  it  with  the  remark  that  the  data  here  given  are  as 
correct  as  circumstances  will  permit,  seeing  that  there  is  no 
Bureau  or  organization  created  purely  for  the  collection  of 
such  statistics,  and  to  which  narrow  gauge  railways  could 
report.  It  is,  therefore,  not  improbable  that  those  lines  that 
are  reported  as  surveyed,  may  have  their  line  graded,  and 
those  stated  as  under  construction  have  part  of  their  line  ironed 
and  in  operation. 


36 


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38 


With  but  few  exceptions,  three  feet  between  the  rails  has 
been  the  width  adopted  by  the  narrow  gauge  railways  of  the 
United  States  ;  this  gauge  being  found  the  most  servicable 
for  carrying  every  variety  of  freight.  Of  the  railways  with  a 
less  gauge  than  three  feet  we  must  notice  The  Sumner  Heights 
and  Hazelwood  Valley  Railroad,  of  ten  inch  gauge — the  nar¬ 
rowest  gauge  railroad  in  the  world.  This  new  departure  is  the 
idea  of  Mr.  Geo.  E.  Mansfield,  of  Walpole,  N.  H.,  who  projected 
and  built  it  during  1875.  The  line  is  one-third  of  a  mile  in 
length,  and  starts  from  the  summit  of  a  small  hill  just  back  of 
the  Hazelwood  station,  on  the  Providence  Railroad,  and  after 
winding  round  the  hill  by  sharp  curves,  comes  down  thro  ugh 
his  back  yard,  and  by  an  apparently  very  dangerous  curve 
shoots  obliquely  across  one  street,  closely  shaving  a  street  cor¬ 
ner  where  it  runs  over  a  small  bridge,  and  then  across  another 
street  to  the  side  near  the  railroad,  and  thence  for  a  short  dis¬ 
tance  parallel  with  the  latter.  The  ties  or  sleepers  are  com¬ 
posed  of  narrow  strips  of  inch  board  about  fifteen  inches  long, 
upon  which  are  nailed  (with  small  finish  nails)  rails  made  of 
soft  wood,  about  an  inch  square  and  ten  inches  apart.  On  these 
are  nailed  narrow  strips  of  thin  hoop  iron,  and  the  whole  affair 
is  complete.  The  car  used  on  this  road  is  a  platform,  about 
two  feet  wide  and  five  feet  long,  and  the  diameter  of  the 
wheels  is  five  inches.  It  would  seem,  at  first  sight,  that  the 
whole  affair  was  a  mere  boy’s  plaything,  and  a  dangerous  one 
at  that ;  but  a  test  of  its  capacity  would  soon  undeceive  the 
proprietor  of  such  hasty  judgment.  It  would  appear,  to  begin 
with,  that  the  wheels  of  the  car,  with  their  small  flanges,  would 
be  sure  to  jump  the  track  at  every  curve,  but  by  a  peculiarity 
in  the  way  of  connecting  them  with  the  car  (an  invention  of 
Mr.  Mansfield)  they  follow  the  track  in  every  wind  and  curve 
as  surely  as  if  they  were  eighteen  inches  in  diameter  and  had  a 
corresponding  depth  of  flange.  The  maximum  grade  is  715 
feet  to  the  mile,  and  the  sharpest  curvature  25  feet  radius. 
There  is  one  bridge  sixty  feet  long  on  a  curve  and  grade  of 
440  feet  to  the  mile.  Four  heavy  men  can  ride  in  the  car, 
which  descends  by  gravitation,  and  is  under  complete  brake 
control;  and  those  who  have  ridden  upon  it  are  surprised  at 
the  absence  of  oscillation. 


NARROW  GAUGE  LOCOMOTIVES. 


- ♦ - 

The  locomotives  for  working  narrow  gauge  railways  neces¬ 
sarily  conform  to  the  same  principles  as  those  for  the  standard 
gauge ;  when,  therefore,  the  projectors  of  the  initial  narrow 
gauge  railway  in  the  United  States  requested  the  Baldwin  Lo¬ 
comotive  Works  of  Philadelphia  to  submit  designs  for  pas¬ 
senger  and  freight  engines,  their  drawings  did  not  essentially 
differ  except  in  dimensions  from  those  made  for  standard  roads. 
A  description  of  the  first  passenger  engine,  constructed  in  June, 
1871,  and  aptly  named  “Montezuma,”  its  mission  being  to  run 
through  the  territories  once  owned  by  that  ancient  monarch, 
will  not  be  out  of  place. 

The  engine  has  four  drivers  connected  and  a  two-wheeled  truck. 


Diameter  of  cylinders,  9  inches. 

Stroke  of  piston,  16  inches. 

“  “  driving  wheels, 

•  •  • 

40 

66 

“  “  pony  wheels, 

•  • 

24 

u 

Distance  between  centre  of  pony  wheels  and  centre  of  front  drivers, 

5U  8}4 

66 

Distance  between  driving  wheel  centres, 

•  • 

6  3 

66 

Total  wheel  base  of  engine, 

•  •  • 

11  1 1^ 

u 

Rigid  wheel  base  (distance  between  driving  wheel  centres),  . 

6  3 

<< 

Diameter  of  tender  wheels, 

•  •  • 

24 

u 

Distance  between  centres  of  tender  wheels, 

•  • 

6 

66 

Total  wheel  base  of  tender  and  engine, 

•  •  • 

20  slA 

66 

Length  of  engine  and  tender  over  all, 

• 

35  4 

66 

Capacity  of  tender, 

... 

500  gals. 

Weight  of  tender  empty, 

• 

5>5°° 

lbs. 

“  “  engine  in  working  order, 

•  •  • 

25,300 

66 

“  “  “  on  drivers,  . 

•  • 

20,500 

66 

“  “  “  on  each  pair  of  drivers, 

•  •  • 

10,250 

6* 

“  “  “  on  pony  wheels, 

•  • 

4,800 

4  6 

Height  of  smoke  stack  above  rail,  . 

•  • 

.  9  9 

66 

Height  of  cab  from  foot  board  to  centre  of  ceiling,  .  .  63“ 

Its  tractive  power,  exclusive  of  the  resistance  of  curves,  is 
as  follows  : 

On  a  level,  ......  .  512  gross  tons. 

On  a  grade  of  40  feet  to  the  mile,  .  .  .  •  164  “ 

On  a  grade  of  80  feet  to  the  mile,  .  .  •  .  98  “ 

(  39) 


40 


From  these  figures  should  be  deducted  17  gross  tons,  the 
weight  of  the  engine  and  tender  in  working  order,  to  get  the 
total  weight  of  cars  and  lading  that  can  be  drawn  on  a  level  or 
on  the  grades  named.  The  speed  attainable  is  between  25  and 
35  miles  per  hour. 


In  the  course  of  time  defects  were  apparent  in  engines  for 
passenger  service  constructed  as  above.  Locomotives,  there¬ 
fore,  are  not  now  built  on  that  pattern,  but  made  similar  to  the 
“  Baldwin,”  a  view  of  which  is  given  on  opposite  page. 

The  following  is  a  description  of  an  engine  built  by  the  Na¬ 
tional  Locomotive  Works  at  Connellsville,  Pa. 


IIkNat-loco.  works 


66 


u 


66 


66 

<< 


This  engine  has  four  connected  drivers  and  a  four-wheeled  truck. 

Diameter  of  cylinders,  12  inches.  Stroke  of  piston,  18  inches. 

“  “  driving  wheels,  .... 

“  “  truck  wheels,  ..... 

Total  wheel  base,  . 

”  •  •  •  •  • 

Rigid  wheel  base,  .... 

Tender,  eight-wheeled,  tank  capacity, 

Diameter  of  tender  wheels,  .... 

Distance  between  centres  of  tender  wheels, 

Total  wheel  base  of  engine  and  tender, 

Length  of  engine  and  tender  over  all, 

Weight  of  tender  empty,  .... 

“  “  engine  in  working  order, 

“  on  drivers, 

7  •  •  •  • 

“  on  truck,  .... 

Height  of  smoke  stack  above  rail,  .... 

“  “  cab  from  foot  board  to  centre  of  ceiling, 


.  46 

22 

.  1 8ft. 

6  8 

1,200  gals. 
24  inches. 
48  “ 

36ft.  8 

43  3 

1 1 ,600  lbs. 
37,000  “ 
26,000  “ 
11,000  “ 

1 1  feet 
6  “  5  in. 


66 


66 


TRACTIVE  POWER. 
On  a  level,  .... 

On  a  20  foot  grade,  .... 

On  a  40  foot  grade,  .... 

On  a  60  foot  grade,  .... 

On  a  80  foot  grade,  .... 

On  a  100  foot  grade,  .... 


•  74°  gross  tons. 
395  “ 

.  260  “  “ 

195  “ 

.  140  “  “ 

1 15  “ 


The  X^ollowing  Illustrations  Show  tl 


PORTER,  BELL  &  C< 


Light  passenger  engine  for  25  or  30  ft).  rail. 


8  in.  diam.  16  in.  stroke, 
5  feet  9  inches, 

10  “  9  “ 

33  in.  or  36  in. 

22  “  24  “ 

16  000  lbs., 

2,500  “ 

500  gals. 


Cylinders, 

Rigid  wheelbase, 
Total  wheelbase, 
Diameter  of  drivers, 


9  in.  diam.  16  in.  stroke 
6  feet  6  inches. 

12  “  o  “ 

36  in.  or  40  in. 

‘  26  “ 


Diameter  of  truck  wheels,  24 
Weight  in  working  order, 

Weight  on  drivers,  20,000  lbs. 

“  on  truck,  4,000  “ 

Water  capacity  of  tender  tank,  750  gals. 


Light  freight  engine  for  25  or  30  ft),  rail. 


Cylinders,  9*4  inches  diameter  14  inch  stroke. 
Wheelbase,  .... 

Diameter  of  drivers,  .  .  .  . 

Weight  in  working  order, 

Water  capacity  of  tender  tank, 


7ft.  3  inches 
30  or  33  “ 
20,000  lbs, 
500  gals. 


For  mixed  service  larger  drivers  and  a  two-wheel  swing  bolster  ra; 
required.  The  three  following  styles  are  specially  adapted  to  local  and  subi 
8  x  16  up  to  12  x  16  cylinders. 


Tlie  Following  Illustrations  Sliow  the  Principal  Styles  of  Harrow  Gauge  Focomotives  Puilt  by 


\ 


POETEE,  BELL  &  CO 


Light  passenger  engine  for  25  or  30  ft),  rail. 


8  in.  diam.  16  in.  stroke, 
5  feet  9  inches, 

10  i(  9  “ 

33  in.  or  36  in. 

22  “  24 

16  000  lbs., 

2,500  “ 

500  gals. 


Cylinders, 

Rigid  wheelbase, 
Total  wheelbase, 
Diameter  of  drivers, 


9  in.  diam.  16  in.  stroke. 
6  feet  6  inches. 

12  “  o  “ 

36  in.  or  40  in. 


tt 


26 


Diameter  of  truck  wheels,  24 
Weight  in  working  order, 

Weight  on  drivers,  20,000  lbs. 

“  on  truck,  4,000  “ 

Water  capacity  of  tender  tank,  750  gals. 


3 


OE  PITTSBEEGH,  PEIESTA. 


Through  passenger  engine  lor  35  or  40  ft),  rail. 


10  inch  diameter  16  inch  stroke;  cylinders,  n  inches  diameter  16  inches  stroke. 


6  ft.  0  inches. 

Rigid  wheelbase, 

6  ft.  0  inches. 

15  “  10  “ 

Total  wheelbase, 

15  “  10  “ 

44 

Diameter  of  drivers, 

44  “ 

30 

Diameter  of  truck  wheels, 

Weight  in  working  order, 

30  “ 

22,000  lbs. 

on  drivers, 

24,000  lbs. 

8,000  “ 

“  on  truck, 

V# 

V* 

0 

0 

VO 

00 

1,000  gals. 

Water  capacity  of  tender  tank, 

1,100  gals. 

This  style,  with  36  or  40  inch  drivers,  is  well  adapted  for 
mixed  trains. 


Light  freight  engine  for  25  or  30  ft),  rail. 


Cylinders,  9^  inches  diameter  14  inch  stroke. 
Wheelbase,  .... 

Diameter  of  drivers,  . 

Weight  in  working  order, 

Water  capacity  of  tender  tank, 


7ft.  3  inches. 
30  or  33  “ 
20,000  lbs. 
500  gals. 


Heavy  freight  engine  for  35  ftb.  rail. 

11  inches  diameter  16  inches  stroke  ;  cylinders,  12  inches  diameter  16  incnts 
stroke. 


8  ft.  1  inch. 

u. 

Wheelbase, 

8  ft.  1  inch 

it 

00 

Diameter  of  drivers, 

36  “ 

30,000  lbs. 

Weight  in  working  order, 

33,000  lbs. 

1,100  gals. 

Water  capacity  of  tender  tank, 

1,200  gals. 

For  mixed  service  larger  drivers  and  a  two-wheel  swing  bolster  radius  bar  truck  is  used.  For  the  slow  speed  most  economical  for  freight  service,  no  pony  truck  is 
required.  The  three  following  styles  are  specially  adapted  to  local  and  suburban  roads,  and  no  extended  list  of  dimensions  can  be  easily  given,  as  they  are  all  built  from 

8  x  16  up  to  12  x  16  cylinders. 


4i 


The  following  is  a  description  of  an  eight-wheeled  locomo¬ 
tive  built  by  the  Brooks  Locomotive  Works,  of  Dunkirk, 


N.  Y. : 


Diameter  of  cylinders,  n  inches. 

“  “  driving  wheels, 

“  “  truck  wheels, 

“  “  driving  wheel  centre, 

Total  wheel  base  of  engine, 

Rigid  wheel  base, 

Diameter  of  tender  wheels, 

Total  wheel  base  of  engine  and  tender, 
Capacity  of  tender, 

Weight  of  engine  in  working  order,  . 

“  “  “  on  drivers, 

“  “  “  on  leading  truck,  . 


Stroke  of  piston,  16  inches. 

44  “ 

20  “ 

•  1/  U 

•  j9/2 

.  1 6ft.  i  “ 

6  “ 

.  .  24  “ 

30  9  “ 

.  .  800  gals. 

.  25,000  lbs. 

17,000  “ 
8,000  “ 


The  boiler  is  of  the  kind  known  as  wagon  top  style  and 
made  of  Pennsylvania  charcoal  iron  inch  thick.  Cylinder 
part  of  boiler  35  inches  diameter  at  smoke  box  end;  made 
telescoping  back.  Dome  22  inches  diameter  and  22  inches  high, 
placed  over  fire  box.  Flues  82  in  number,  1  inches  diame¬ 
ter,  7  feet  inches  long,  set  with  copper  bushing  at  fire-box 
end.  Before  lagging  is  put  on,  boiler  to  be  fired  up  and  tested 
as  perfectly  tight  under  a  steam  pressure  of  155  pounds. 

The  fire  box  is  of  homogenous  cast  steel  49^  inches  long 
and  \8]/2  inches  wide  inside.  Sides,  crown  and  back  sheets 
l/l  inch  thick;  flue  sheets  inch  thick.  Water  space  2}4 
inches  back  and  sides,  2^4  inches  front.  Stay  bolts  of  Ulster 
iron  7/%  inches  diameter,  placed  not  over  4^  inches  apart, 
screwed  and  riveted  over  sheets  at  both  ends.  Crown  bars 
made  of  two  bars  iron  4  inches  by  inch,  welded  at  ends, 
placed  not  over  5  ]/2  inches  from  centre  to  centre ;  ends  having 
firm  bearing  on  side  sheets.  Crown  sheet  securely  fastened  to 


42 


bars  by  rivets  placed  not  over  4^2x5  x/2  inches  apart.  Grates 
adapted  for  the  fuel  ;  ash  pan,  approved  design ;  smoke  stack, 
adapted  for  the  fuel. 

Safety  valves,  two  in  number,  patent  relief  valves  placed  in 
dome,  one  set  to  limit  the  pressure  desired,  the  other  adjusta¬ 
ble  by  a  lever  in  cab. 

Frames,  of  hammered  iron  with  pedestals  welded  on,  planed 
full  length.  Top  bar  2^x3  inches.  Pedestals  cased  with  cast 
iron  gibs  and  wedges,  to  prevent  wear  by  the  boxes. 

Pistons,  to  have  cast  iron  spider  and  follower  with  Dunbar’s 
patent  steam  packing,  with  rods  of  patent  cold  rolled  iron. 

Guides,  of  hammered  iron  case-hardened,  2x/2  inches  wide, 
1  x/%  inches  thick  at  each  end  and  I  x/§  inches  thick  in  the  mid¬ 
dle,  fastened  to  yoke. 

Valve  motion,  approved  shifting  link  style,  graduated  to  cut 
off  equally  at  all  points  of  the  stroke.  Links  of  best  hammered 
iron  well  case-hardened.  Rocker  shafts  of  wrought  iron  with 
journals  inches  diameter,  and  8  inches  long;  arms  7/q 
inches  thick.  Reverse  shaft  made  with  arms  forged  on. 

Ty  res,  of  best  crucible  cast  steel,  flanged,  5  inches  wide,  and 
2 inches  thick  when  finished. 

Driving  axles,  of  best  hammered  iron;  journals  5  inches 
diameter,  and  6  inches  long.  Wheel  fit  5  inches  diameter, 
6  -£2  inches  long. 

Wrist  pins,  of  best  cast  steel.  Wheel  fit  5^  inches  long 
and  3  inches  diameter.  Main  wrist  3  inches  in  diameter 
and  3  inches  long.  Side  rod  wrist  2x/2  inches  in  diameter  and 
2x/2r  inches  long. 

Springs,  of  best  quality  of  cast  steel. 

Feed  water,  supplied  by  two  brass  pumps  with  valves  and 
cages  of  brass,  well  fitted.  Plungers  of  patent  cold  rolled  iron: 
or  one  pump  and  one  No.  5  injector.  Cock  in  feed  pipe  regu¬ 
lated  from  foot-board. 

Engine  cab,  to  be  substantially  built  of  walnut  well  finished, 
and  securely  braced  to  boiler  and  running  boards. 

Pilot,  to  be  made  of  oak  and  ash,  well  braced. 

Finish — Boiler  lagged  with  wood,  jacketed  with  Russia  iron 
secured  by  brass  bands.  Dome  lagged  with  wood,  with  brass 


43 


casing  on  body.  Top  and  bottom  ring  of  brass  or  iron. 
Cylinders  lagged  with  wood,  jacketed  with  brass,  with  brass 
casing  heads.  Steam  chests  cased  with  brass.  Top  cover 
to  be  made  of  cast  iron.  Cylinders  oiled  from  cab  by  pipes 
under  jacket. 

Its  tractive  power,  exclusive  of  the  resistance  of  curves,  in 
addition  to  weight  of  engine  and  tenders,  is  as  follows : 


On  a  level, 

On  a  grade  of  20  feet  to  the  mile, 
On  a  grade  of  40  feet  to  the  mile, 
On  a  grade  of  60  feet  to  the  mile, 
On  a  grade  of  80  feet  to  the  mile, 
On  a  grade  of  100  feet  to  the  mile, 


.  550  gross  tons. 


250 

a 

a 

.  15° 

a 

a 

100 

a 

a 

0 

00 

a 

a 

70 

a 

a 

The  next  illustration  is  of  a  “  Mogul”  engine,  built  at  the 
same  works.  This  style  of  locomotive  is  recommended  by 
Mr.  Brooks  in  his  letter  to  the  author,  which  will  be  found  at 
the  end  of  the  chapter. 


Il!(ti  iiiljiiiiiiiiiiiiuiJi 


'PrtO  tO  ;  £f Mr  ’CQ.N-V. 


With  the  exception  of  the  following  alterations,  the  specifi¬ 
cation  for  an  eight-wheeled  engine  is  suitable  for  the  Mogul 
pattern. 


Fire  box  60  inches  long,  iSy£  inches  wide  inside. 
Diameter  of  cylinders,  11  inches. 

“  “  driving  wheels, 

“  “  truck  wheels, 

“  “  driving  wheel  centre, 

Total  wheel  base  of  engine, 

Rigid  wheel  base,  .... 
Diameter  of  tender  wheels, 

Total  wheel  base  of  tender  and  engine,  . 
Capacity  of  tender  tank, 

Weight  of  engine  in  working  order, 

“  “  “  on  drivers,  . 

“  ‘‘  “  on  truck  wheels, 


Stroke  of  piston, 


.  I5ft- 
10 


16 

36 

24 

32 

9 

6 


inches. 

ii 

it 

a 

a 

u 


a 

i  i 


1,000  gals. 
33,000  lbs. 
28,000  “ 
5,000  “ 


44 


Guides,  of  hammered  iron  case-hardened,  3  inches  wide,  1  ^ 
inches  thick  at  each  end  and  1  inches  thick  in  the  middle, 
fastened  to  yoke. 

Valve  motion,  approved  shifting  link  style,  graduated  to  cut 
off  equally  at  all  points  of  the  stroke.  Links  of  best  ham¬ 
mered  iron  well  case-hardened.  Rocker  shafts  of  wrought 
iron  with  journals  2j4  inches  diameter,  and  104^  inches  long; 
arms  7^  inches  thick.  Reverse  shaft  made  with  arms  forged 
on. 


Driving  wheels,  6  in  number,  32  inches  diameter  inside  of 
tyre.  Centres  of  cast  iron  constructed  with  hollow  hubs  and 
rims,  solid  spokes,  relieving  the  centres  from  all  strain  from 
contraction  in  cooling  by  a  uniform  distribution  of  metal. 

Tyres,  of  best  crucible  cast  steel,  flanged,  5  inches  wide,  and 

2  inches  thick  when  finished.  Tyres  on  middle  pair  of  drivers 
plain,  5  y2  inches  wide. 

Driving  axles,  of  best  hammered  iron;  journals  5  inches 
diameter,  and  6  inches  long.  Wheel  fit  5  inches  diameter, 
6  -^2  inches  long. 

Wrist  pins,  of  best  cast  steel.  Wheel  fit  6  inches  long  and 

3  ]/2  inches  diameter.  Main  wrist  3  inches  in  diameter  and 
2^/2  inches  long.  Side  rod  wrist  2Y/2  inches  in  diameter  and 
2^/2  inches  long. 

Feed  water,  supplied  by  one  brass  pump  outside  of  cross 
head,  with  valves  and  cages  of  brass,  well  fitted.  Plungers  of 
hollow  tubing.  One  No.  5  injector.  Cock  in  feed  pipe  regu¬ 
lated  from  foot-board. 

Its  tractive  power,  exclusive  of  the  resistance  of  curves,  is 
as  follows: 


On  a  level, 

On  a  grade  of  20  feet  to  the  mile, 
On  a  grade  of  40  feet  to  the  mile, 
On  a  grade  of  60  feet  to  the  mile, 
On  a  grade  of  80  feet  to  the  mile, 
On  a  grade  of  100  feet  to  the  mile, 


•  75°  gross  tons. 


35° 

66 

66 

.  225 

66 

66 

Do 

66 

a 

•  125 

66 

66 

100 

6< 

66 

The  following  letter  from  the  President  of  the  Brooks 
Locomotive  Works  to  the  author  is  of  such  interest  that  we 


produce  it  entire: 

My  Dear  Sir: — Will  you  kindly  allow  me  space  in  your 


45 


valuable  publication  upon  the  Narrow  Gauge  Railway  System, 
to  give  briefly  my  reasons  for  recommending  the  so-called 
“Mogul"  locomotive  for  all  general  traffic  upon  such  a  line, 
either  passenger  or  freight.  The  importance  of  rightly  decid¬ 
ing  this  question  cannot  be  over-estimated;  and  my  firm  con¬ 
viction  as  to  its  bearing  upon  the  economical  operation  of  the 
system  must  be  my  apology  for  this  article. 

The  elements  of  friction  obtaining  from  the  operation  of 
any  given  width  of  gauge  of  track  or  lateral  base  line  for  the 
support  and  movement  of  the  equipment  thereon,  may  be  very 
properly  classed  under  three  separate  heads. 

ist.  In  the  decreased  proportionate  weight  of  equipment  to 
paying  load  moved. 

2d.  In  the  frictions  resulting  from  the  conditions  of  the 
vertical  lateral  centre  of  gravity,  and  the  angle  of  stability. 

3d.  In  the  frictions  resulting  from  the  conditions  of  the 
angle  of  impingement  of  the  flanges  of  the  wheels  upon  the 
rails. 

The  entire  economies  resulting  in  the  operation  of  a  narrow 
gauge  railway,  obtain  from  these  three  heads;  and  therefore 
no  one  interested  in  the  construction  or  maintenance  of  a 
narrow  gauge  railway  can  afford  to  ignore  the  advantages  to 
be  derived  from  a  careful  study  and  analysis  thereof.  Many 
persons  are  seemingly  so  carried  away  with  the  positiveness 
of  these  resulting  economies,  without  regard  to  conditions, 
that  they  seem  to  fully  believe  that  one  pound  avoirdupois 
weighs  less  than  sixteen  ounces.  Actual  weight,  unfortu¬ 
nately,  possesses  no  less  gravity  upon  a  narrow  than  upon  a 
broad  gauge;  and  therefore  nearly  all  economies  in  this  direc¬ 
tion  must  be  obtained  under  the  conditions  of  the  ist  head. 

I  say  “  nearly  all,”  as  there  is  a  percentage  of  gain  even  in 
moving  the  same  weight  upon  a  narrow  gauge,  provided 
proper  attention  is  paid  to  the  conditions  of  the  2d  head ,  and 
a  constant  certain  percentage  of  gain  always,  in  moving  the 
same  weight  upon  a  narrow  gauge,  under  the  conditions  of 
the  3d  head. 

One  of  the  most  important  questions  for  the  consideration 
of  parties  designing  to  construct,  equip  or  operate  a  narrow 


46 


gauge  railway,  is  to  decide  upon  such  a  weight  and  design  of 
locomotive,  as  shall  secure  to  them  all  the  advantages  to  be 
derived  from  the  adoption  of  such  gauge.  The  proper  distri¬ 
bution  of  weight  in  order  that  the  maximum  weight  upon  any 
one  point  upon  the  rail  may  never  exceed  a  given  limit,  and 
that  limit  so  largely  under  the  capacity  of  a  light  iron  rail  to 
receive  without  injury,  as  to  be  used  many  years  without  per¬ 
ceptible  depreciation,  should  receive  minute  attention  and 
consideration.  Now  I  assert  as  the  experience  resulting  from 
a  careful  study  of  this  question,  that  upon  a  35  fb  rail,  the 
weight  upon  a  single  point  should  never  exceed  three  tons: 
and  I  also  assert  that  if  the  weight  is  kept  down  to  two  and 
one-half  tons  upon  a  single  point,  the  rail  will  only  wear  out 
from  lateral  abrasions,  and  will  be  practically  indestructible 
from  hammering  and  consequent  lamination. 

Upon  this  question  of  locomotive  equipment,  minute  con¬ 
sideration  should  be  given  to  the  conditions  under  the  2d  head. 

There  is  a  misapprehension  of  the  law  governing  the  lateral 
oscillations  and  abrasions,  from  which  obtain  the  frictions 
under  the  2d  head. 

The  fact,  that  the  philosophical  law  of  all  lateral  oscillations 
of  the  rolling  stock  in  motion ,  in  the  abrasions  of  the  wheels 
upon  the  rails,  determine  that  such  abrasions  shall  be  upon 
curved  lines  or  upon  arcs  described  by  radii,  from  the  vertical  lat¬ 
eral  centre  of  gravity  to  the  point  of  contact  of  the  wheels  upon 
the  rail ,  in  so  far  as  the  conflicting  force  of  gravity  will  admit, 
seems  to  be  ignored ;  and  it  is  taken  for  granted  that  with  any 
given  deflection  in  the  base  line  or  track,  the  same  results 
would  obtain  as  when  such  rolling  stock  were  not  under  for¬ 
ward  or  backward  motion. 

Suppose  a  vertical  deflection  obtains  at  a  point  under  the 
wheels  of  a  car  or  locomotive  at  rest;  the  lateral  force  obtained 
would  be  precisely  as  to  the  angle  of  deflection;  because  the 
effect  of  such  deflection  would  obtain  positively  and  directly 
when  received ;  and  would  be  decreased  in  force  and  quantity 
precisely  in  proportion  to  the  increased  width  of  gauge,  or 
much  less  upon  a  broad,  than  upon  a  narrow  gauge,  with  the 
same  vertical  deflection  in  each  case. 


47 


Whenever  such  car  or  locomotive  is  under  motion,  however, 
the  result  of  any  vertical  deflection  in  the  base  line  laterally, 
obtains  far  beyond  the  point  where  such  deflection  occurred; 
emanating  directly  from  the  centre  of  gravity  of  such  moving 
body;  and  therefore  the  quantity  of  lateral  abrasions  and  con¬ 
sequent  friction  resulting  from  any  given  deflection  would  be 
nearly  as  to  the  distance  from  the  centre  of  gravity  (vertical 
and  lateral)  to  the  point  of  contact  of  the  wheels  upon  the  rails. 

Therefore,  in  order  to  secure  the  best  results,  a  locomotive 
should  be  used  having  the  minimum  elevation  of  centre  of 
gravity,  and  designed  to  give  the  most  uniform  steadiness  of 
motion,  as  well  as  the  most  uniform  distribution  of  weight. 

I  am  aware  that  much  prejudice  exists  against  the  “  Mogul” 
locomotive  for  rates  of  speed  exceeding  12  miles  per  hour, 
upon  roads  of  standard  gauge ;  and  that  the  experience  of  rail¬ 
way  managers  invariably  has  been,  that  such  a  locomotive 
should  only  be  used  at  slow  rates  of  speed.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  very  heavy  depreciation  would  follow  the  use  of 
these  locomotives  at  high  rates  of  speed  upon  a  standard 
gauge ;  for  the  reason  that  upon  such  gauge  the  lightest 
‘‘Mogul”  locomotive  built  has  a  weight  upon  each  driving 
wheel  exceeding  five  tons ;  and  the  general  and  more  frequent 
fact  is,  that  they  are  run  with  a  weight  exceeding  six  tons 
upon  a  single  point.  Now  a  weight  even  of  five  tons  upon  a 
single  point  upon  an  iron  rail,  is  so  very  near  the  full  capacity 
of  resistance  of  such  rail,  that  the  added  and  consecutive  blow 
of  the  extra  driving  wheel  of  the  “  Mogul”  locomotive  is  a  very 
large  added  element  of  depreciation;  and  hence  the  idea  seems 
to  obtain  that  the  same  difficulty  would  result  from  the  use  of 
the  “  Mogul”  locomotive  upon  the  narrow  gauge  for  high  rates 
of  speed.  This,  however,  is  not  the  case  where  the  maximum 
limit  of  weight  upon  a  single  point  never  exceeds  tzvo  and  one- 
half  tons ;  for  the  reason  that  this  weight  is  so  largely  under 
and  within  the  capacity  of  an  iron  rail,  that  the  added  conse¬ 
cutive  blow  of  the  extra  driving  wheel  is  of  no  consequence; 
and  the  steadiness  of  motion  attained  by  a  properly  propor¬ 
tioned  and  properly  counterbalanced  “  Mogul”  locomotive  may 
be  secured  without  fear  of  pernicious  results. 


48 


There  is  not  the  slightest  difficulty  in  attaining  and  main¬ 
taining  a  speed  o fjo  miles  per  hour  if  desired,  with  a  diameter 
of  driving  wheel  thirty-six  inches.  A  very  high  velocity  is 
not  expected  nor  generally  desired  upon  the  narrow  gauge; 
and  as  the  question  of  the  elevation  of  the  centre  of  gravity  is 
really  a  most  important  one,  driving  wheels  thirty-six  inches 
in  diameter  will  be  found  to  give  the  best  results  in  the  end. 
Hence  I  do  not  hesitate  to  recommend  a  properly  propor¬ 
tioned  “Mogul"  locomotive  with  thirty-six  inch  driving  wheels, 
as  the  best  and  most  economical  for  adoption  for  general  traffic 
upon  a  narrow  gauge. 

There  will  be  exceptions  to  this  in  the  way  of  requirements 
for  special  service  in  the  vicinity  of  large  towns,  where  a  light 
and  frequent  suburban  passenger  traffic  exists;  in  which  case 
a  locomotive  specially  adapted  to  the  specific  service  required, 
and  not  at  all  suited  to  general  work,  would  be  found  to  be 
the  most  serviceable. 

Upon  page  43  will  be  found  a  cut  and  general  specifications 
of  the  Brooks  Mogul  three  feet  gauge  locomotive;  and  while 
we  desire  to  give  our  friends  and  patrons  who  favor  us  with 
orders  such  locomotives  as  they  deem  best  in  each  special 
case,  we  take  the  liberty  of  recommending  the  “  Mogul”  loco¬ 
motive  as  likely  to  give  them  the  best  satisfaction  and  the 
most  satisfactory  results. 

Upon  page  41  will  be  found  cut  and  general  specification  of 
the  standard  eight  wheel  locomotive  adapted  to  the  narrow 
gauge. 

Most  respectfully  submitted  to  yourself  and  your  readers  by 

H.  G.  Brooks, 

Prest.  Brooks  Locomotive  Works. 


I 


•  i 


< 


FIRST  NARROW  GAUGE  PASSENGER  CAR, 

BUILT  BY  THE  JACKSON  &  SHARP  COMPANY, 

WIL^niTsTG-TOIsr,  DELAWARE, 

1871. 


\ 


I 


NARROW  GAUGE  PASSENGER  CARS. 


When  the  question  was  first  discussed  of  building  Narrow 
Gauge  Railways  in  the  United  States,  the  projectors  naturally 
looked  to  the  engineering  fraternity  of  Great  Britain  for  pre¬ 
cedents.  The  result  was  apparent  in  the  establishment  of  a 
measure  of  favor  towards  the  use  of  four-wheeled  passenger 
cars,  built  on  the  coupe  plan,  so  common  on  European  roads. 
Further  reflection,  however,  decided  that  it  would  be  impossi 
ble  to  revive  a  custom  that  had  become  so  obsolete  in  America, 
as  the  one  of  confining  a  small  number  of  passengers  in  the 
equivalent  of  a  stage-coach  body. 

In  the  meantime  the  Jackson  and  Sharp  Company,  of  Wil¬ 
mington,  Delaware,  prepared  and  submitted  designs  for  pass¬ 
enger  cars,  built  on  the  American  plan,  of  placing  a  long  body 
on  swinging  trucks,  to  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande  Railway, 
the  initial  narrow  gauge  railway  in  the  United  States.  These 
were  approved  and  adopted  by  the  managers,  and  on  the 
opposite  page  will  be  seen  a  side  view  of  the  car  “Denver,” 
constructed  in  1871,  and  being  the  first  narrow  gauge  car 
built  in  America.  The  dimensions  are  as  follows : 


Length 
Width  . 
Height 

Diam.  of  wheel 


35  feet. 

7  “ 

10)4  “ 

2  “ 


Weight  .  .  .  15,000  pounds. 

Dead  wt.  per  pass.  .  416  “ 

Capacity  .  .  *36  pass. 

Ht.  of  sill  from  ground  27  inches. 


The  interior  arrangement  may  be  inferred  from  the  accom¬ 
panying  cut.  The  seats  are  double  on  one  side  and  single  on 
the  other,  this  arrangement  being  reversed  in  the  centre  of 
the  car,  so  that  each  side  carries  half  double  and  half  single 
seats — an  arrangement  which  secures  a  perfect  balance  of 
weight  when  the  car  is  full. 

The  single  seats  are  nineteen  inches  wide,  the  double  seat, 
thirty-six  inches,  the  aisle  seventeen  inches.  These  cars  are 

4  (49) 


50 


finished  in  the  best  style;  the  wood  work,  the  upholstery, 

decorations,  and  the  whole 
arrangement  being  first-class. 
The  accompanying  section 
shows  how  the  angle  of  sta¬ 
bility  diminishes  from  fifty  and 
one-half  degrees  for  the  empty 
car  to  forty-seven  and  one-half 
degrees  for  one  loaded.  This 
excellent  result  is  due  to  a  care¬ 
ful  study  of  the  parts,  so  that 
the  load  is  carried  within  the 
shortest  possible  distance  from 
the  track.  Even  when  exposed 
to  the  fierce  onset  of  the  Colo¬ 
rado  gales,  the  cars  have  always 
proved  themselves  equal  to 
the  emergency.  This  has  not 
been  peculiar  to  that  locality 
alone,  but  from  all  roads 
throughout  the  country  the  same  satisfactory  record  has  been 
received. 

It  was  thought  among  narrow  gauge  engineers,  when  the 
system  was  in  its  infancy,  that  in  no  case  should  the  width  of 
car  exceed  double  the  gauge  of  the  road.  Even  the  seven 
feet  width  of  body  in  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande  cars  was 
regarded  with  feelings  of  apprehension  until  such  time  as  the 
practical  demonstration  of  the  case  proved  the  fallacy  of  the 
hypothesis.  Since  1871  the  width  of  cars  has  been  steadily 
increased  by  builders,  until  at  length  a  width  of  8  feet  over 
body  has  been  attained  and  operated  with  great  success.  The 
height  of  cars  has  remained  unaltered,  and  other  details  the 
same.  A  most  important  advantage  has  been  secured  by  the 
change  in  width,  for  by  this  means  it  is  possible  to  seat  four 
passengers  abreast  instead  of  three,  and  thus  increase  the  car¬ 
rying  capacity  of  the  car  from  thirty-six  to  forty-seven  pass¬ 
engers.  This  improvement  especially  commends  itself  to  the 
wants  of  short  lines  of  twenty  to  forty  miles  in  length,  and  to 
temperate  climates.  In  tropical  climates  it  is  best  to  keep  the 


1ST  arrow  Grange  Passenger  Car*. 

BUILT  BY  BILLMEYER  &  SMALLS, 

YORK,  3?  E  UST  TsT  ’.A. . 


\ 


5i 


width  at  eight  feet  and  lengthen  the  seats,  so  that  three  pass¬ 
engers  will  be  accomodated  abreast.  Cars  eight  feet  in 
width  and  seating  four  passengers  abreast  have  an  aisle  of 
seventeen  and  one-fourth  inches  wide,  and  seat  rooms  of  thirty- 
five  inches  each.  As  such  cars  weigh  about  16,000  pounds, 
the  dead  weight  per  passenger  is  only  340  pounds.  The 
saving  in  dead  weight  is  very  marked  as  compared  with  that 
of  722  pounds  per  passenger,  so  common  on  roads  having  a 
gauge  of  4  feet  8^  inches. 

Thus  far  we  have  described  only  the  mode  of  seating  the 
passengers  in  first-class  cars  in  which  the  seats  have  reversible 
backs.  In  second-  and  third-class  cars  it  is  the  custom  of 
some  builders  to  arrange  the  seats  parallel  to  the  walls  of  the 
car,  the  same  way  as  obtains  on  street  railways,  and  placing  at 
the  same  time  seats  in  the  aisle  for  twelve  passengers.  The 
latter  seats  are  arranged  transversely  and  back  to  back. 
Where  no  saloon  is  used  a  car  of  thirty-five  feet  in  length  will 
seat,  by  this  arrangement,  sixty  passengers,  giving  a  dead 
weight  of  about  266  pounds  per  passenger.  We  leave  it  to 
others  to  infer  what  saving  may  safely  be  relied  upon  under 
such  favorable  relations  between  dead  weight  and  effective 
load. 

It  can  scarcely  be  necessary  to  enlarge  on  the  comfort  and 
ease  enjoyed  in  the  cars  of  the  narrow  gauge  system,  or  to 
point  out  the  close  similarity  in  arrangement  of  stoves,  saloons, 
sashes,  ventilators,  etc.,  common  to  the  broad  and  narrow  gauge 
systems.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  Company  who  first  demon¬ 
strated  the  feasibility  of  building  comfortable  passenger  cars, 
has  since  manufactured  most  luxurious  parlor  as  well  as 
sleeping  cars  for  roads  of  three  feet  gauge.  There  is,  in  fact,  no 
limit  to  the  comfort  that  can  be  secured  with  the  development 
of  the  system. 

The  annexed  cut  represents  a  narrow  gauge  passenger  car 
built  for  the  “  Eureka  and  Palisade  Railroad  Company,”  by 
Messrs.  Billmeyer  &  Smalls.  It  is  a  first-class  car,  which  for 
strength,  beauty  and  comfort  is  not  surpassed  by  any  passenger 
car  manufactured  in  this  country.  This  car,  named  “  Eureka,” 
has  a  length  of  thirty-five  feet  in  the  body  and  forty-one  feet 


52 


out  to  out,  and  is  seven  feet  in  width,  with  a  comfortable  carry¬ 
ing  capacity  of  thirty-six  passengers;  it  weighs  about  17,000 
pounds,  but  could  be  built  lighter  without  lessening  much  of 
its  strength  by  the  use  of  canvass  instead  of  tin  roofing,  and 
by  reducing  the  sizes  of  the  irons  and  timbers  used  in  its  con¬ 
struction,  though  it  is  deemed  by  the  builders  of  the  “  Eureka” 
far  more  important  to  guard  against  possible  contingencies, 
than  to  save  a  few  thousand  pounds  in  the  weight  of  the  car. 

The  trucks  are  built  of  the  best  material  and  are  after  the 
most  approved  plans,  securing  to  them  strength  and  stiffness, 
and  to  the  car  the  steadiness  and  easy  motion  always  so  desir¬ 
able  to  travelers.  The  body  of  the  car,  which  in  design  is 
similiar  to  the  first-class  coaches  used  on  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad,  is  a  model  of  strength  and  beauty,  and  is  evidence  of 
the  superior  artistic,  as  well  as  mechanical  skill  of  its  builders. 
Its  frame  work  is  of  the  best  Southern  Yellow  Pine,  braced  and 
strengthened  and  put  together  in  such  manner  as  to  secure 
the  most  perfect  protection  against  accidents  and  at  the  same 
time  give  symmetry  and  grace  to  the  appearance  of  the  car 
when  finished.  The  finest  quality  of  poplar  is  used  on  the  out¬ 
side,  while  the  richest  and  best  varieties  of  hard  wood,  such  as 
cherry,  walnut  and  ash,  are  used  with  well  selected  profusion 
on  the  inside,  and  with  its  cushions  of  scarlet  and  green,  and 
its  hooks  and  lamps,  and  knobs,  hinges,  etc.,  of  silver  mount- 
ing  give  it  the  appearance  of  some  fairy  boudoir  rather  than  a 
temporary  convenience  for  the  traveling  public. 

The  coloring  is  all  very  fine,  and  though  not  gaudy,  it  is  yet 
bound  to  attract  and  please  the  dullest  lover  of  the  beautiful. 

A  patent  heating  stove  ornaments,  and  is  at  the  same  time 
of  sufficient  capacity  to  make  the  car  comfortable  in  the  coldest 
weather. 

The  Messrs.  Billmeyer  and  Smalls  in  the  “  Eureka”  have 
thus  added  to  their  reputation  of  long  standing  as  among  the 
best  freight  car  builders  in  the  United  States,  the  title  of  first- 
class  narrow  gauge  passenger  coach  builders. 

They  are  now  building  for  the  Denver  &  Rio  Grande  R.  R. 
Co.  a  number  of  first-class  coaches,  eight  feet  wide,  forty-one 
feet  total  length,  containing  fourteen  windows  on  each  side, 


) 


.  r 


> 

•-J 


# 


1ST arrow  Gauge  Passenger  Car, 

BUILT  BY  BARNEY  &  SMITH  MANUFACTURING  CO., 

HD^jNTTOUnT,  OHIO. 

«  ft  over  sills  double  seat  each  side  of  aisle,  seats  46  Passengers,  leaving  room  for  stove  and  saloon.  Weight  9^  tons  Special  notice  asked  to  height  of 
onenhL  n  window  ’  giving  ample  room  for  Passengers  to  look  out,  and  giving  unusual  opportunity  for  free  ventilation  through  the  large  opening.  All  sash  in 

deck  made  to  open,’  a  most  important  feature  in  so  small  a  car  with  so  great  a  carrying  capacity. 


with  two  in  each  end  of  car,  with  twenty-five  double  seats, 
twelve  on  each  side  placed  opposite  each  other  and  crosswise 
of  the  car,  the  other  one  placed  at  the  end  of  the  car  back  of 
the  door,  lengthwise  of  the  car;  with  Miller  platform  and  coup¬ 
ler,  twenty-four  inch  wheels,  etc. 

By  a  vote  taken  at  the  Narrow  Gauge  Convention  held  in 
the  City  of  St.  Louis,  June,  1872,  it  was  decided  that,  as  a 
matter  of  expediency,  the  height  of  the  centre  of  drawheads 
of  cars  should  be  24  inches  above  the  upper  surface  of  the 
rails.  The  wisdom  of  this  cannot  be  overestimated,  for  with 
a  three  feet  gauge  there  is  no  possible  reason  for  a  difference  in 
height  of  drawheads  on  converging  lines  of  road.  If  the  24-inch 
wheel  is  universally  adopted  as  the  standard,  both  in  the  case 
of  passenger  and  freight  service,  then  the  narrow  gauge  system 
will  have  the  uniformity  of  design  recently  established  on 
the  broad  gauge.  In  the  former  case  the  height  of  drawhead 
would  be  24  inches,  and  the  diameter  of  the  wheels  24  inches ; 
in  the  latter  33  inches  height  of  drawhead,  and  33  inches 
standard  height  of  wheel.  Such  dimensions  are  in  accordance 
with  the  laws  of  most  perfect  stability  for  the  freight,  as  well 
as  the  passenger  cars. 

The  many  improvements  that  have  been  adopted  on  the 
standard  gauge,  such  as  the  Miller  Platform  and  Coupler,  the 
Westinghouse  Air  Brake,  etc.,  have  also  been  applied  to 
narrow  gauge  cars  with  equal  success;  so  that  in  mechanical 
as  well  as  in  artistic  adaptability  the  narrow  gauge  system  is 
equally  pliable  with  the  standard  gauge,  while  in  working 
economy  it  is  vastly  its  superior. 


NARROW  GAUGE  FREIGHT  CARS. 


The  question  as  to  whether  narrow  gauge  freight  cars 
could  transport  with  equal  facility  the  same  class  of  freight  as 
that  carried  in  standard  gauge  cars,  so  naturally  arose  when 
railways  of  three  feet  gauge  were  projected,  that  it  will  not  be 
inopportune  to  refer  in  this  place  to  each  class  of  car  con¬ 
structed,  and  compare  it  and  its  relative  capacity  with  the 
same  class  on  an  ordinary  gauge  railway. 

In  1871,  the  well-known  car  builders,  Messrs.  Billmeyer 
&  Smalls,  of  York,  Pa.,  were  requested  by  the  Denver  and 
Rio  Grande  Railway  Company  to  submit  designs  and  dimen¬ 
sions  for  a  Flat  Car  and  Box  Car,  for  their  three  feet  gauge 
railway,  then  being  constructed.  The  designs  being  approved, 
they  commenced  building  the  first  eight-wheeled  narrow  gauge 
freight  car  constructed  in  America.  A  view  and  description  of 
this  car  is  given  below: 


Length  of  frame  2fi/2  feet.  Width,  6  feet.  Wheels  20 
inches  in  diameter,  fitted  on  3^  inch  axles  with  steeled  iron 
trucks,  and  steeled  spiral  bearing  springs  encased. 

Weight  of  car,  6,250  pounds.  Capacity,  10  tons.  Cars  of 
this  class  have  been  built  25  feet  long,  6yi,  to  7  feet  wide,  with 
24  inch  wheels,  and  weighing  about  7,500  pounds. 

Gauge.  Weight  0/  car  in  pounds .  Capacity  in  pounds.  Proportion  of  dead  weight 

•  to  paying  load. 

Standard  .  18,000  20,000  1  to  1.11 

Narrow  .  .  6,250  19,000  1  to  3.04 

(54) 


55 


The  following  is  a  view  and  description  of  the  first  eight¬ 
wheeled  Box  Car  built  by  the  same  builders: 


Length  of  frame,  23^4  feet.  Width,  6  feet.  Wheels,  20 
inches  in  diameter,  fitted  on  3j4  inch  axles,  with  steeled  iron 
trucks,  and  steeled  spiral  bearing  springs  encased. 

Weight  of  car  8,800  pounds.  Capacity,  9  tons.  Cars  of  this 
class  are  now  being  built  25  feet  long,  7  feet  wide,  with  24 
inch  wheels,  and  weighing  about  10,000  pounds. 

Gauge .  Weight  of  car  in  pounds.  Capacity  in  pounds.  Proportion  of  dead  weight 

to  paying  load. 

Standard  .  19,000  20,000  1  to  1.05 

Narrow  .  .  8,800  17,600  1  to  2 

The  following  is  a  view  and  description  of  an  eight-wheeled 
Coal  Car  with  two  drops  in  centre,  designed  and  constructed 
by  Messrs.  Billmeyer  &  Smalls,  for  the  East  Broad  Top  Rail¬ 
way  Company. 


Length  of  frame,  23^  feet.  Width,  6  feet.  Wheels,  20 
inches  in  diameter,  fitted  on  3^  inch  axles  with  steeled  iron 
trucks,  and  steeled  spiral  bearing  springs  encased. 


56 


Weight  of  car,  9,000.  Capacity,  10  tons. 

Gauge.  Weight  of  car  in  pounds.  Capacity  in  pounds. 


Standard  .  18,000 

Narrow  .  .  9,000 


30,000 

20,000 


Proportion  of  dead  ■weight 
to  paying  load. 
i  to  1.66 

i  to  2.22 


The  following  is  a  view  and  description  of  an  eight-wheeled 
Stock  Car,  designed  and  constructed  by  Messrs.  Billmeyer  & 
Smalls,  for  the  Costa  Rica  Railroad. 


I  HI  IW! 


Bsnn 

EBEE-  -  y  mSSSj 

§  COSTA  Rj 


Length  of  frame,  23^  feet.  Width,  7  feet.  Wheels,  20 
inches  in  diameter,  fitted  on  3  inch  axles  with  steeled  iron 
trucks,  and  steeled  spiral  bearing  springs  encased. 

Weight  of  car,  8,000  pounds.  Capacity,  9  to  12  large  head 
of  cattle  facing  the  ends  of  car,  or  16  small  cattle  facing  side 
of  car. 


Gauge. 

Standard, 

Narrow, 


Weight  of  car  No.  of  cattle 
in  pounds.  per  car. 

18,000  14 

8,000  9 


Weight  of  cattle 
in  pounds. 

19.600  . 

12.600 


Gross  weight  of 
loaded  cars. 


37,600 

20,600 


Total  weight 
per  head. 

1,285. 

888. 


Dead  weight  in  favor  of  narrow  gauge, 


397- 


A  difference  of  397  pounds  per  head,  3,573  pounds  per  car 
load  of  nine  head,  and  in  a  train  of  twenty  cars  71,460  pounds, 
or  thirty-five  tons  in  favor  of  the  narrow  gauge.  Prominent  stock 
men  state  that  they  prefer  sending  their  stock  to  market  in 
such  cars,  because  the  cattle  steady  themselves  better,  and 
there  is  less  danger  of  their  getting  down,  and  because  it  is 
easier  to  feed  and  attend  to  them. 

From  the -foregoing  comparisons  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
least  dead  weight  is  hauled  when  a  narrow  gauge  car  is  moved, 


57 


and  that  relatively  a  greater  amount  of  paying  weight  is  trans¬ 
ported  in  it  than  in  the  standard  gauge.  This  is  one  of  its 
greatest  advantages,  and  is  well  worth  remembering.  The  fol¬ 
lowing  extract  from  the  First  Annual  Report  of  the  Denver 
and  Rio  Grande  Railway  Company  is  so  much  to  the  point, 
that  we  shall  conclude  this  chapter  with  it: 

With  concentrated  or  heavy  freight,  which  constitutes  on  this,  as  on  nearly  all 
railroads,  the  great  bulk  of  the  tonnage  to  be  transported,  the  advantage  realized 
has  been  35  per  cent.  That  it  is  to  say,  thirty-five  hundredths  more  freight  has 
been  regularly  carried  on  the  narrow  gauge  rolling  stock,  with  the  same  total 
weight  of  cars  and  load,  as  on  the  broad  gauge.  This  can  be  most  readily 
seen  by  observing  a  train  of  16  loaded  cars  (which  weigh  say  8*4  tons  each  when 
empty)  arriving  at  Denver  on  the  broad  gauge  road,  and  their  contents  trans¬ 
ferred  to  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande  Railway.  The  sat?ie  freight  is  placed  in 
20  narrow  gauge  cars,  the  empty  weight  of  which  is  somewhat  less  than  three 
tons  each.  The  comparison  will  then  stand  as  follows  : 


Total 

Total 

Total 

Paying- 

dead 

paying 

weight  cars 

Cars. 

Empty  weight.  loud. 

weight. 

load. 

and  load. 

16  wide-gauge. . . . , 

. .%%  tons  each.  10  tons  each. 

136  tons. 

160 

296 

20  narrow-gauge.. 

.  .less  than  3  tons  each.  8  “ 

60  “ 

160 

220 

Saving  in  total  weight,  76  tons. 

which  is  equivalent,  after  allowing  for  the  weight  of  cars  necessary  to  carry  it, 
to  56  tons  additional  freight  which  the  narrow  gauge  train  could  take  without 
any  increase  of  weight  over  the  broad  gauge  train — in  other  words,  35  per 
cent,  more  ;  this  is  on  the  presumption  that  the  cars  on  each  gauge  are  fully 
loaded.  But  it  very  frequently  happens  in  the  ordinary  course  of  railroad  bus¬ 
iness  that  cars  are  not  loaded  to  their  capacity,  in  which  event  the  narrow  gauge 
receives  a  proportionately  greater  benefit.  For  instance,  if  from  any  station  there 
was  a  load  of  but  5  */2  tons  to  carry,  the  narrow  gauge  car  would  weigh  no  more 
with  this  load  than  the  broad  gauge  would  entirely  empty. 

It  is  the  case  with  almost  any  kind  of  freight  that  whatever  a  car  on  the  Den¬ 
ver  and  Rio  Grande  Railway  holds  of  goods  tip  to  $  *4  tons,  is  so  much  clear  gain 
to  it.  That  is,  it  can  carry  that  much  in  each  car  as  cheaply  as  the  wide  gauge 
road  can  run  its  cars  empty. 


t 


REPORTS  OF  ROADS. 


ALAMEDA,  OAKLAND  AND  PIEDMONT 

RAILROAD. 

This  Company  was  organized  in  February,  1873,  to  construct 
a  narrow  gauge  railway  from  Oakland,  in  Alameda  county,  to 
Piedmont  Hotel,  a  watering  place  on  the  Coast  Range,  thence 
into  Contra  Costa  county,  a  distance  of  about  60  miles.  During 
1873,  ten  miles  were  constructed  between  Oakland  and 

Piedmont  Hotel,  that  are  reported  to  be  doing  a  good  busi¬ 
ness,  as  the  line  runs  through  a  fine  agricultural  country. 

No  statistical  information  could  be  obtained. 

The  capital  stock  is  $100,000,  all  paid  in. 

The  office  of  the  Company  is  at  Oakland,  Cal. 

AMERICAN  FORK  RAILROAD. 

This  Company  was  incorporated  on  the  3d  of  April,  1872, 
to  construct  a  narrow  gauge  railway  from  American  Fork,  a 
station  on  the  Utah  Southern  Railroad,  eastward,  up  the  canon, 
and  passing  the  Miller  and  other  mines,  to  Sultana,  an  esti¬ 
mated  distance  of  22  miles.  Work  was  commenced  in  May, 
and  by  October,  18  miles  were  completed  between  the  junction 
with  the  Utah  Southern  Railroad  and  the  mines  at  the  head  of 
American  Fork  Canon. 

The  maximum  grade  is  297  feet  to  the  mile,  and  the  aver¬ 
age  grade  exceptionally  heavy. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  25 0  (299  feet  radius). 

The  weight  of  rail  is  30  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  one  of  their  engines,  built  by  Messrs.  Porter, 
Bell  &  Co.,  of  Pittsburg,  is  17  tons,  having  cylinders  12x16 
and  six  drivers.  This  engine  takes  a  train  of  over  47  tons  up 
the  maximum  grade. 


59 

Financial  statement — Capital  stock  authorized,  $300,000; 
all  paid  in.  No  funded  debt. 

Lloyd  Aspinwall,  President,  New  York  City. 

H.  Horner,  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  Salt  Lake  City. 

E.  Wilkes,  Superintendent,  Salt  Lake  City. 

ARKANSAS  CENTRAL  RAILROAD. 

This  Company  was  organized  in  1870  under  the  General 
Railroad  Law  of  1868,  to  build  a  railway  of  3  ft.  6  in.  gauge 
from  Helena  to  Little  Rock,  a  distance  of  150  miles.  During 
1872,  48  miles  between  Helena  and  Clarendon  were  con¬ 
structed  and  put  in  operation,  and  80  miles  graded,  bridged 
and  tied.  Negotiations  are  on  foot  to  procure  money  for  the 
completion  of  the  line. 

The  maximum  grade  is  52.8  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  130  30'  (425.40  feet  radius). 

The  weight  of  rail  35  and  45  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  engines,  8,  10  and  20  tons,  all  placed  over  the 
drivers. 

Equipment — 3  locomotives,  2  passenger  cars,  1  baggage,  34 
freight  cars  of  all  classes. 

A.  H.  Johnson,  President,  Helena,  Arkansas. 

Edward  Vernon,  Vice-President,  New  York  City. 

J.  A.  Toppan,  Superintendent,  Helena,  Arkansas. 

BATH  AND  HAMMONDSPORT  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  incorporated  by  the  Legislature  of  New 
York  in  1872,  to  build  a  narrow  gauge  railway  from  Bath,  on 
the  Rochester  division  of  the  Erie  Railway,  northeastward 
through  Pleasant  Valley,  to  Hammondsport,  at  the  foot  of 
Crooked  Lake,  a  distance  of  g]/2  miles,  and  it  is  proposed  to 
extend  the  line  westward  20  miles  to  Hornellsville.  Grading 
was  commenced  in  1872  and  completed  the  following  year,  but 
track  was  not  ironed  till  1875. 

The  maximum  grade  is  132  feet  to  the  mile,  maintained  for 
6,000  feet,  and  the  proportion  of  grade  to  level  in  entire  line  is 
as  9  to  10. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  8°  (717  feet  radius),  and  the  pro¬ 
portion  of  curvature  to  tangent  in  entire  line  two-ninths. 


6o 


No.  of  bridges,  io;  aggregate  length,  1,000  feet. 

No.  of  trestles,  i;  aggregate  length,  150  feet. 

The  weight  of  rail  is  40  pounds  to  the  yard. 

Weight  of  engine  i6}4  tons,  13  tons  on  drivers. 

Average  cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equipment,  $13,000. 

Equipment — 2  locomotives,  2  passenger  cars,  2  baggage  and 
express,  4  freight  cars. 

Operations — Line  only  opened  six  months. 

Financial  Statement — Capital  stock  authorized,  $100,000; 
paid  in,  $70,000;  funded  debt,  1st  mortgage,  $38,000 ;  interest, 
7%  ;  floating  debt,  $5,000. 

Allen  Wood,  lessee,  Bath,  N.  Y. 

N.  W.  Bennett,  Superintendent,  Bath,  N.  Y. 

J.  W.  Davis,  Secretary,  Bath,  N.  Y. 

BELL’S  GAP  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  incorporated  under  the  general  law  of 
Pennsylvania,  May  1 1,  1871,  with  power  to  construct  a  railway 
from  Bell’s  Mills,  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  to  Lloyds,  in 
Cambria  county,  a  distance  of  8^  miles.  The  road  has  since 
been  projected  to  Fallen  Timber,  making  the  total  length  19 
miles.  The  road  was  put  under  construction  in  1872;  and  in 
June,  1873,  8^  miles  were  placed  in  operation.  No  addi¬ 
tional  mileage  has  since  been  added. 

The  grade  is  very  heavy,  the  maximum  of  158.4  feet  to  the 
mile  being  continuous  for  6j^  miles. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  28°  (206  feet  radius).  There  are 
ten  of  these  curves  on  the  maximum  grade,  two  of  which  are 
600  feet  long,  turning  an  angle  of  1680. 

The  weight  of  rail  is  35  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  engines  15  tons. 

Equipment — 2  locomotives,  2  passenger  cars,  78  freight  cars 
of  all  classes. 

Operations  for  year  ending  December  31,  1875 — Gross 
earnings,  $38,146.42.  Operating  expenses,  $18,504.85  (48.49 
per  cent.).  Net  earnings,  $19,641.57. 

Financial  statement — Capital  stock  authorized,  $200,000; 
paid  in,  $200,000;  funded  debt,  1st  mortgage,  7  per  cent, 
bonds,  maturing  July  I,  1893,  $200,000;  floating  debt,  $8,800. 


6i 


A.  L.  Massey,  President,  1 1  Merchants’  Exchange,  Phila. 

J.  G.  Cassatt,  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  Altoona,  Pa. 

Jos.  Ramsary,  Jr.,  Superintendent,  Antestown,  Pa. 

BINGHAM  CANON  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  organized  in  1872,  to  build  a  narrow 
gauge  railway  from  the  mines  at  Bingham  Canon  to  Sandy 
Station,  on  the  Utah  Southern  Railway,  an  estimated  distance 
of  22  miles.  Work  was  commenced  in  1873,  and  16  miles 
completed  and  put  in  operation  between  Sandy  and  the  Wina- 
muck  Smelting  Works.  The  following  year  the  line  was  ex¬ 
tended  to  Bingham  Station  and  the  Utah  Mining  Company’s 
works,  6  miles. 

The  maximum  grade  is  240  feet  to  the  mile.  There  is  also 
a  grade  of  200  feet  per  mile,  continuous  for  3  miles,  and  the 
average  grade  is  very  heavy. 

The  weight  of  rail  is  35  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  engines  18  tons. 

Cost  of  road,  with  equipment,  per  mile,  $13,000. 

Equipment — 3  locomotives,  4  passenger  cars,  1  baggage, 
100  freight  cars  of  all  classes. 

Operations  for  eleven  months,  ending  October  31,  1874 — 
Gross  earnings,  $103,247.39.  Operating  expenses,  $40,71 1.76 
(39.43  per  cent).  Net  earnings,  $62,535.63. 

Financial  statement — Capital  stock  authorized,  $300,000; 
paid  in,  $45,000;  funded  debt,  $240,000. 

C.  W.  Scofield,  President,  New  York  City. 

Geo.  Goss,  Vice-President,  Salt  Lake  City. 

George  Doane,  Secretary,  Salt  Lake  City. 

BOSTON,  REVERE  BEACH  AND  LYNN  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  incorporated  under  the  railroad  law  of 
Massachusetts,  May  23,  1874,  to  construct  a  narrow  gauge 
railway  between  Boston  and  Lynn,  a  distance  of  9  miles, 
which  was  commenced  and  built  during  1875. 

The  maximum  grade  is  63^2  feet  to  the  mile,  maintained 
for  300  feet,  and  the  proportion  of  grade  to  level  in  entire  line 
is  one-tenth. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  290  23'  (195  feet  radius). 


62 


No.  of  tunnels,  I ;  aggregate  length  500  feet. 

No.  of  bridges,  13;  aggregate  length,  7,542  feet. 

The  weight  of  rail  is  40  pounds  to  the  yard. 

Weight  of  engine  22  tons,  twelve  tons  on  drivers. 

Average  cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equipment, 
$40,000. 

Equipment — 3  locomotives,  7  passenger  cars,  8  freight  cars. 

Operations — The  road  has  been  running  but  six  months, 
and  so  far  very  satisfactorily,  and  has  earned  about  six  per 
cent,  net  on  the  investment.  Full  report  will  be  made  at  end 
of  a  year. 

Financial  statement — Capital  stock  authorized,  $350,000; 
paid  in,  $347,600.  No  debt. 

A.  P.  Blake,  President,  Boston. 

John  G.  Webster,  Treasurer,  Boston. 

Henry  Breed,  Superintendent,  Boston. 

CAIRO  AND  ST.  LOUIS  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  organized  in  1865,  and  a  charter  incor¬ 
porating  it  passed  February  16th,  authorizing  it  to  construct  a 
railroad  between  St.  Louis  and  Cairo,  a  distance  of  146 ]/2  miles. 
In  1867  the  charter  was  amended,  but  nothing  was  done  until 
1871,  when  it  was  resolved  to  build  the  line  on  a  three  feet 
gauge.  The  surveyed  route  of  the  road  passes  through  the 
fertile  counties  of  St.  Clair,  Monroe,  Randolph,  Jackson, 
Union  and  Alexander,  touching  at  the  towns  of  Columbia, 
Waterloo,  Red-bud,  Sparta,  Murphysboro  and  Jonesboro.  It 
passes  through  the  finest  fruit-growing  district  of  Illinois  and 
by  the  Chester  and  Big  Muddy  coal  fields,  and  through  large 
tracts  of  timbered  land,  much  of  which  is  yet  to  be  cultivated. 
The  first  ground  was  broken  August  30,  1871,  and  during 
1872  thirty  miles  were  operated.  The  following  year  62  miles 
were  constructed,  bringing  the  line  to  Murphysboro.  In  1874 
twenty-six  miles  were  built  northward  from  Cairo,  leaving  a 
gap  of  thirty-two  miles  to  be  ironed  during  1875,  which  is  now 
laid. 

The  maximum  grade  is  104  feet  to  the  mile,  maintained  for 
4  miles,  and  the  proportion  of  grade  to  level  in  entire  line  is 
20%. 


63 


The  sharpest  curvature  is  150  (383  feet  radius),  and  the  pro¬ 
portion  of  curvature  to  tangent  of  entire  line  is  10%. 

No.  of  tunnels,  1 ;  length  500  feet. 

No.  of  bridges,  12;  aggregate  length,  3,960  feet. 

No.  of  trestles,  26 ;  aggregate  length,  3  miles. 

The  weight  of  rail  is  40  to  56  pounds  to  the  yard. 

Average  weight  of  engines  19  tons,  15  tons  on  drivers. 

Equipment — 23  locomotives,  12  passenger  cars,  3  baggage 
and  express,  450  freight  cars. 

Cost  of  road,  operations  and  financial  statement  are  not  re¬ 
ported. 

H.  R.  Payson,  President,  St.  Louis. 

F.  E.  Canda,  Vice-President,  St.  Louis. 

J.  L.  Hinckley,  General  Supt.,  St.  Louis. 

CENTRAL  VALLEY  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  incorporated  by  the  Legislature  of  New 
York  to  build  a  narrow  gauge  railway  between  Bainbridge,  a 
station  on  the  Albany  and  Susquehanna  Railroad,  and  Smith- 
ville  Flats,  Chenango  county,  N.  Y.,  a  distance  of  12  miles. 
Construction  commenced  in  1872,  and  the  line  was  opened 
for  traffic  the  following  year.  It  is  purposed  to  extend  it  to 
McDonough,  12  miles  further. 

Efforts  to  obtain  statistical  information  from  this  road  have 
been  without  result. 

Passenger  cars  were  built  for  it  by  Messrs,  Jackson  &  Sharp, 
of  Wilmington,  and  freight  cars  by  Messrs.  Billmeyer  &  Smalls, 
of  York,  Pa. 

H.  S.  Crozier,  President,  Smithville  Flats,  N.  Y. 

Thomas  Hurley,  Contractor,  Smithville  Flats,  N.  Y. 

CHESTER  &  LENOIR  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  organized  at  Newton,  N.  C.,  on  the  10th 
of  July,  1873,  to  build  a  narrow  gauge  railway  from  Chester, 
S.  C.,  to  Lenoir,  N.  C.,  a  distance  of  105  miles.  During  that 
year  negotiations  were  commenced  for  the  purchase  or  con¬ 
solidation  of  the  King’s  Mountain  Railroad,  a  line  of  5  feet 
gauge,  running  between  Chester  and  Yorkville,  22  miles,  with 


04 


the  intention  of  converting  it  into  a  3-feet  gauge,  to  form  part 
of  the  Chester  and  Lenoir  Railroad.  The  negotiations  were 
consummated  April  3d,  1874,  and  the  change  of  gauge  and 
disposal  of  the  broad  gauge  rolling  stock  commenced  forth¬ 
with.  On  August  31st  the  line  was  opened,  and  the  first  train 
on  the  narrow  gauge  ran  through  between  Chester  and  York- 
ville. 

During  1875,  27  miles  were  completed,  bringing  the  road  to 
Dallas,  N.  C.,  and  construction  is  still  going  forward. 

The  maximum  grade  is  106  feet  to  the  mile,  and  proportion 
of  grade  to  level  in  entire  line  is  33%. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  6°  (955  feet  radius),  and  the  pro¬ 
portion  of  curvature  to  tangent  in  entire  line  as  1  to  2. 

The  weight  of  rail  is  30  pounds  to  the  yard. 

Weight  of  engine  10  tons. 

Average  cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equipment,  $7,000. 

Equipment,  2  locomotives,  2  passenger  cars,  19  freight  cars. 

Operations  for  year  ending  April,  1875.  Gross  earnings 
$19,159.48.  Expenses  $10,412.29  (54  per  cent.).  Net  earn¬ 
ings,  $8,747.19. 

Financial  statement. — Capital  stock  authorized,  $2,000,000. 
Paid  in  $275,000. 

A.  H.  Davega,  President,  Chester,  S.  C. 

E.  Thomas,  Superintendent,  Chester,  S.  C. 

F.  Gardner,  Chief  Engineer,  Chester,  S.  C. 

CHICAGO,  MILLINGTON  &  WESTERN  RAILROAD. 

This  narrow  gauge  road  was  incorporated  by  the  State  of 
Illinois,  D^c.  5th,  1872,  to  construct  a  line  from  Chicago  to 
the  Mississippi  River  at  Muscatine,  a  distance  of  200  miles. 
Construction  was  delayed  till  the  end  of  1875,  when  12  miles 
were  completed,  and  one  hundred  miles  are  now  under  contract. 

The  weight  of  rail  is  30  pounds  to  the  yard. 

Financial  statement. — First  mortgage  7%  bonds,  due  July 
1st,  1905,  $1,500,000. 

Lewis  Steward,  President,  Chicago,  Ills. 

J.  W.  Eddy,  Vice  President,  Chicago,  Ills. 

Geo.  N.  Jackson,  Secretary,  Chicago,  Ills. 


65 

COLORADO  CENTRAL  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  organized  in  1871,  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Union  Pacific  Railway,  to  build  narrow  gauge  lines  from 
Golden  to  Central  City  and  Georgetown,  a  total  distance  of 
49  miles.  At  Golden  connection  is  made  with  the  Colorado 
Central  standard  gauge  railway,  which  runs  to  Denver. 

During  1872  twenty-one  miles  were  operated,  and  the  fol¬ 
lowing  year  four  miles  additional.  No  mileage  was  completed 
in  1874.  The  total  line  operated  on  December  31st  was  25 
miles.  Twenty  four  miles  are  under  construction. 

The  maximum  grade  is  275  feet  to  the  mile,  and  the  aver- 
age  grade  heavy, 

The  sharpest  curvature  420  (136  feet  radius). 

The  weight  of  rail  is  32  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  engines  from  11  to  18  tons  each,  nearly  all 
being  placed  over  the  drivers. 

Equipment — 6  locomotives,  3  passenger  cars,  54  freight 
cars  of  all  classes. 

H.  M.  Teller,  President,  Central  City,  Col. 

J.  L.  Overton,  Superintendent,  Central  City,  Col. 

CROWN  POINT  RAILROAD. 

This  Company  was  organized  in  1874  to  build  a  narrow 
gauge  railway  from  Crown  Point,  on  Lake  Champlain,  where 
the  furnaces  of  the  Crown  Point  Iron  Company  are  situated 
westward  thirteen  miles  to  their  ore  beds.  The  road  was  com¬ 
pleted  and  put  in  operation  during  the  summer  of  the  same 
year. 

The  maximum  grade  is  160  feet  to  the  mile,  maintained  for 
10  miles,  and  the  proportion  of  grade  to  level  in  entire  line 
about  1  in  4. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  170  (338  feet  radius),  and  propor¬ 
tion  of  curvature  to  tangent  in  entire  line  as  1  to  2. 

No.  of  trestles  13.  Aggregate  length  6,220  feet. 

The  weight  of  rail  is  45  pounds  to  the  yard. 

Weight  of  engines  16  tons.  13  tons  on  drivers. 

Average  cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equipment.  $ 26 
OOO. 


5 


66 


Equipment — 3  locomotives,  I  passenger  car,  112  freight 
cars. 

Operations  and  financial  statement  not  published. 

Gen’l.  John  Hammond,  President,  Crown  Point,  N.  Y. 

A.  L.  Hinman,  Treasurer,  Crown  Point,  N.  Y. 

J.  D.  Hardy,  Superintendent,  Crown  Point,  N.  Y. 

DENVER  AND  RIO  GRANDE  RAILWAY. 

This  company  was  incorporated  October  27,  1870,  under 
the  General  Railroad  Law  of  Colorado,  to  construct  a  railroad 
from  Denver  to  El  Paso,  on  the  border  of  Mexico,  and  thence 
if  suitable  concessions  could  be  obtained  from  the  Government 
of  Mexico,  to  the  capital  of  that  republic,  a  projected  distance 
of  about  1720  miles,  of  which  850  would  be  in  the  United 
States. 

General  Palmer,  the  President  of  the  railway,  who  is  well 
acquainted  with  the  topography  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  region, 
and  with  the  proposed  line  of  route  and  resources  of  the 
country,  after  studying  the  narrow  gauge  lines  in  Europe, 
proposed  to  build  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande  Railway  on  a 
2  feet  6  inch  gauge.  After,  however,  carefully  weighing  all  the 
statistics  and  considering  the  interests  and  requirements  of  the 
section  of  territory  through  which  the  line  would  pass,  it  was 
finally  decided  to  adopt  a  gauge  of  three  feet  as  the  one  best 
adapted  to  the  many  and  diversified  wants  of  Southern  Colorado 
and  New  Mexico.  Work  was  commenced  early  in  1871,  and 
the  first  spike  on  a  narrow  gauge  track  was  driven  on  Friday, 
July  28th.  The  first  narrow  gauge  train  was  run  over  the 
three  miles  of  track  completed,  on  August  16th,  and  the  first 
division  of  76  miles,  from  Denver  to  Colorado  Springs,  was 
opened  for  general  traffic  on  October  27th,  1871.  The  second 
division,  from  Colorado  Springs  to  South  Pueblo,  43  miles, 
was  completed  and  opened,  June  15th,  1872. 

On  the  Arkansas  Valley  Branch,  38  miles,  from  South 
Pueblo  to  the  coal  mines  of  Fremont  county,  were  completed 
and  put  in  operation  November  1st,  1872,  and  9  miles  from 
coal  mines  to  Canon  City,  were  constructed  and  opened  for 
general  traffic,  July  6th,  1874.  At  the  end  of  1875  construe- 


6; 


tion  commenced  on  the  extension  to  Trinidad,  which  at  this 
date  is  approaching  completion. 

The  maximum  grade  is  75  feet  to  the  mile,  and  the  average 
grade  36  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  190  (302.94  feet  radius),  and  the 
proportion  of  curvature  to  tangent  as  3  is  to  5. 

The  weight  of  rail  is  30  and  35  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  passenger  engines  12  tons. 

The  weight  of  freight  engines  17  tons. 

Average  cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equipment  of  220 
miles  of  main  line,  in  stock  and  bonds,  $45,000. 

Equipment — 13  locomotives,  12  passenger  cars,  4  baggage, 
mail  and  express  cars,  and  323  freight  cars  of  all  classes. 
Miller  platforms  and  Westinghouse  brakes  are  in  use  on  all 
the  passenger  trains. 

Operations  for  year  ending  December  31st,  1875: — Gross 
earnings  from  120  miles  of  main  line,  represented  by  $2,410,000 
bonds,  $360,700. — Operating  expenses — $211,882  (58.74  per 
cent).  Net  earnings — $148,818. 

Financial  statement — Capital  stock  authorized,  $4,950,000; 
paid  in,  $4,950,000;  funded  debt,  first  mortgages  bonds  author¬ 
ized,  $4,950,000;  sold  $3,283,500;  interest  7  per  cent.;  gold 
due,  $1900. 

Gen.  Wm.  I.  Palmer,  President,  Colorado  Springs,  Col. 

Wm.  S.  Jackson,  Vice-President,  “  “  “ 

W.  W.  Borst,  Superintendent,  “  “  “ 

DENVER,  SOUTH  PARK  AND  PACIFIC  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  organized  in  1872  to  build  a  narrow 
gauge  railway  from  Denver,  Colorado,  southwesterly  into  the 
South  Park,  a  fine  agricultural,  dairying  and  stock  raising 
region,  a  projected  distance  of  about  100  miles.  Various 
causes  prevented  the  commencement  of  construction  until  1874, 
when  1 6  miles  were  completed  and  opened  to  Morrison,  where 
there  are  Sulphur  Springs  and  other  attractions.  During  1875 
the  line  was  extended  a  short  distance. 

The  maximum  grade  is  105  feet  to  the  mile. 


68 


The  sharpest  curvature,  20°  (288  feet  radius). 

The  weight  of  rail  is  30  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  engines  14  and  18  tons — 12  and  15  tons 
respectively  being  placed  over  the  drivers. 

The  operating  expenses  for  the  first  six  months  were  three- 
fourths  of  gross  earnings,  and  the  Superintendent  writes  that 
had  it  been  broad  gauge  it  could  not  have  been  operated  with 
total  earnings.  He  considers  it  a  success  in  every  respect. 

Hon.  John  Evans,  President,  Denver,  Colorado. 

Benjamin  M.  Gilman,  Superintendent,  Denver. 

DES  MOINES  AND  MINNESOTA  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  incorporated  by  the  Legislature  of  Min¬ 
nesota  in  1873,  to  build  a  railway  from  Des  Moines  to  Ames, 
a  station  on  the  Chicago  and  North-western  Railway,  a  dis¬ 
tance  of  thirty-seven  miles;  the  line  has  since  been  extended 
to  McGregor  in  Clayton  county,  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles 
further.  At  first  it  was  proposed  to  construct  it  of  the  standard 
gauge,  but  subsequent  consideration  induced  the  laying  down 
of  a  three  feet  gauge  track.  Grading  was  completed  in  No¬ 
vember,  1873,  and  track-laying  commenced  at  Des  Moines 
January  12th,  1874,  the  line  being  completed  and  opened  for 
traffic  to  Ames,  July  29th. 

The  maximum  grade  is  80  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  sharpest  curvature  12°  (478  feet  radius). 

The  weight  of  rail  is  30  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  engines  15  tons,  1 2  tons  being  placed  over  the 
drivers. 

Cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equipment,  $7,000. 

Equipment — 2  locomotives,  2  passenger  cars,  2  baggage  and 
express,  44  freight  cars  of  all  classes. 

Financial  Statement — Capital  stock  authorized,  $300,000; 
paid  in,  $300,000;  Funded  debt:  First  mortgage,  $130,000; 
Second  mortgage,  $70,000.  Total  funded  debt,  $200,000; 
Floating  debt,  $20,000. 

James  Callanan,  President,  Des  Moines,  Iowa. 

J.  J.  Smart,  Vice  President  and  Supt.,  Des  Moines,  Iowa. 

Chas.  H.  Getchell,  Treasurer,  Des  Moines,  Iowa. 

J.  B.  Stewart,  Secretary,  Des  Moines,  Iowa. 


69 


EAST  BROAD  TOP  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  incorporated  May  24th,  1871,  under  the 
general  railroad  law  of  Pennsylvania,  to  construct  a  railway 
from  Mount  Union,  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  to  Roberts- 
dale,  Huntingdon  county,  where  are  situated  some  coal  mines, 
a  distance  of  30  miles.  The  line  was  placed  under  construction 
during  1872,  and  the  following  year  11  miles  were  operated 
between  Mount  Union  and  Orbisonia,  at  which  place  are  the 
iron  furnaces  of  the  Rock  Hill  Coal  &  Iron  Co.  During  1874, 
the  nineteen  miles  between  Orbisonia  and  Robertsdale  were 
constructed,  and  the  entire  line  formally  opened  for  traffic  on 
October  16th.  The  grade  is  very  heavy  and  the  alignment 
tortuous,  two  tunnels  of  830  feet  and  1,150  feet,  respectively, 
having  to  be  driven  to  reduce  the  grade  and  reach  the  desired 
point. 

The  maximum  grade  is  140  feet  to  the  mile,  and  is  continu¬ 
ous  for  three  miles,  the  average  grade  for  the  entire  line  being 
80  feet. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  170  (338  feet  radius). 

The  weight  of  rail  laid  is  40,  45  and  50  pounds  to  the 
yard,  and  the  track  is  well  ballasted,  so  that  trains  run  very 
smoothly. 

The  weight  of  passenger  engines  is  17  tons. 

The  weight  of  freight  engines  is  25  tons. 

Equipment — 6  locomotives,  2  passenger  cars,  2  baggage, 
mail  and  express,  176  freight  cars  of  all  classes. 

The  amount  expended  on  construction  up  to  November 
30th,  1875,  was  $1,009,702.08. 

Operations  for  year  ending  November  30th,  1875,  the  first 
year  of  operating: — gross  earnings,  $69,623.74;  operating  ex¬ 
penses,  $42,864.84,  (61.56  per  cent.);  net  earnings,  $26,758.90. 

Financial  statement — capital  stock  authorized,  $1,000,000; 
paid  in,  $505,760;  funded  debt,  first  mortgage,  7  per  cent., 
bonds  due  1903,  $500,000;  floating  debt,  $43,044.94. 

W.  A.  Ingham,  President,  320  Walnut  St.,  Philadelphia. 

W.  B.  Jacobs,  Secy,  and  Treas,  320  Walnut  St.,  Philadel¬ 
phia. 

A.  W.  Sims,  Superintendent,  Orbisonia,  Huntingdon  Co.,  Pa. 


70 


EUREKA  AND  PALISADE  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  organized  in  1873  to  construct  a  narrow 
gauge  railway  from  Eureka,  Nevada,  southward  to  Palisade,  a 
station  on  the  Central  Pacific  Railway,  a  distance  of  90  miles. 
Work  was  commenced  in  1874,  and  during  the  year  50  miles 
were  constructed  and  opened  to  traffic  about  the  end  of  the 
year,  and  in  1875  the  road  was  completed. 

The  line  is  laid  with  steel  rails,  40  pounds  to  the  yard. 

Estimated  cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equipment,  $10,000. 

Equipment — 4  locomotives,  3  passenger  cars,  58  freightcars. 

Edgar  Mills,  President,  Sacramento,  Cal. 

George  H.  Rice,  Superintendent,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah. 

Woodruff  &  Anna,  Agents,  Palisade,  Nev. 

FARMERS’  UNION  RAILROAD. 

This  Company  was  incorporated  by  the  State  of  Iowa,  March 
20th,  1875,  to  build  a  narrow  gauge  road  from  a  point  on  the 
Mississippi  River  to  Monona  on  the  Missouri,  a  distance  of 
300  miles.  About  the  end  of  the  year  12  miles  were  placed 
in  operation  between  Liscomb  and  Beaman,  and  track-laying 
is  still  going  forward. 

The  maximum  grade  on  division  built  is  53  feet  to  the  mile, 
maintained  for  about  a  mile. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  40  (1,432  feet  radius). 

The  rail  is  of  hard  maple  wood,  3^/rx  6,"  notched  into 
cross-ties  and  keyed,  and  estimated  to  last  four  years. 

Average  cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equipment,  $5,000. 

Equipment — 1  locomotive,  10  freight  cars. 

Financial  Statement — Capital  stock  authorized,  $2,000,000  ; 
paid  in,  $2,000  per  mile;  funded  debt,  first  mortgage  10% 
bonds,  $3,000  per  mile. 

J.  W.  Tripp,  President,  Liscomb,  Iowa. 

F.  A.  Soule,  General  Superintendent,  Liscomb,  Iowa. 

% 

GALENA  AND  SOUTHERN  WISCONSIN  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  organized  in  1871  to  construct  a  railroad 
from  Galena,  on  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  via  Platteville  to 
Muscoda,  on  the  Wisconsin  River,  a  distance  of  72  miles. 


7i 


During  1872-3  thirty  miles  were  graded  and  bridged,  and  one 
tunnel  of  over  400  feet  in  length  driven.  Various  causes  pre¬ 
vented  track  laying  until  September,  1874,  when  the  above 
mileage  was  ironed. 

The  maximum  grade  is  74  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  sharpest  curvature,  io°  40'  (537  feet  radius). 

•  The  weight  of  rail  is  35  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  engines,  14  and  16  tons. 

Cost  per  mile,  including  equipment,  $11,000. 

Equipment — 2  locomotives,  1  baggage  and  smoking  car,  34 
freight  cars  of  all  classes. 

Operations — Not  reported. 

Financial  statement — No  returns. 

Darius  Hawkins,  President,  Galena,  Ills. 

John  Lorain,  Secretary,  Galena,  Ills. 

GOLDEN  CITY  AND  SOUTH  PLATTE  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  organized  in  1871,  under  the  laws  of 
Colorado,  to  construct  a  narrow  guage  road  from  Golden, 
where  connection  is  made  with  the  Colorado  Central  Railway, 
south-eastward,  to  Acequia,  a  station  on  the  Denver  and  Rio 
Grande  Railway,  a  distance  of  20  miles.  During  1873  the 
line  was  graded,  and  the  following  year  18  miles  were  ironed, 
but  owing  to  the  panic,  the  rolling  stock  has  not  yet  been  ob¬ 
tained. 

The  maximum  grade  is  132  feet  to  the  mile,  maintained  for 
900  feet,  and  the  proportion  of  grade  to  level  in  entire  line  is 
five-sevenths. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  180  (319  feet  radius). 

The  weight  of  rail  is  30  pounds  to  the  yard. 

Estimated  average  cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equip¬ 
ment,  $9,750. 

Financial  statement — Capital  stock  authorized,  $400,000; 
paid  in,  $126,000. 

Charles  C.  Welch,  President,  Golden,  Col. 

E.  L.  Berthoud,  Secretary,  Golden,  Col. 


72 


GRAFTON  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  organized  under  the  general  railroad  law 
of  Massachusetts  in  1874,  to  construct  a  narrow  gauge  railway 
from  Grafton  Station,  on  the  Boston  &  Albany  Railroad,  to 
Grafton  Centre,  a  distance  of  three  and  one-tenth  miles,  which 
were  constructed  the  same  year. 

The  maximum  grade  is  105  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  sharpest  curvature  230  24'  (246  feet  radius.) 

The  weight  of  rail  is  35  pounds  to  the  yard. 

Weight  of  dummy  engine,  6  tons. 

Average  cost  of  construction  per  mile,  including  equip¬ 
ment,  $10,274.54. 

Operations — Gross  earnings,  $5,965.60;  operating  expenses, 
$5,316.96;  net  earnings,  $648.64. 

Jonathan  Wheeler,  President,  Grafton,  Mass. 

J.  H.  Wood,  Superintendent,  Grafton,  Mass. 

GREENLICK  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  incorporated  by  the  State  of  Pennsylva¬ 
nia,  October  19th,  1874,  to  build  a  narrow  gauge  railway  from 
Scotdale  to  Chestnut  Ridge,  a  distance  of  6]/2  miles.  During 
1875,  3/4  miles  were  completed,  between  Mt.  Pleasant  and 
Bradford  Railroad,  and  Mt.  Vernon  mines. 

The  maximum  grade  is  135  feet  to  the  mile,  maintained  for 
1  Y/2  miles,  and  the  proportion  of  grade  to  level  in  entire  line  7/%. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  160  (359  feet  radius). 

No.  of  bridges,  7;  aggregate  length,  250  feet. 

No.  of  trestles,  2;  aggregate  length,  500  feet. 

The  weight  of  rail  is  24  pounds  to  the  yard. 

Weight  of  engine,  10  tons. 

Average  cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equipment,  $8,500. 

Equipment — 1  locomotive,  1  passenger  car,  17  freight  cars. 

Operations — The  road  is  reported  as  doing  a  paying  busi¬ 
ness. 

Financial  statement — Capital  stock  authorized,  $50,000; 
paid  in,  $30,000. 

J.  M.  Knapp,  President,  Scotdale,  Pa. 

Nath.  Miles,  Secretary,  Scotdale,  Pa. 


73 


HAVANA,  RANTOUL  AND  EASTERN  RAILROAD. 

*  This  company  was  incorporated  by  the  Illinois  Legislature 
in  1873  to  build  a  narrow  gauge  railway  from  Havana,  on  the 
Illinois  River,  to  Alvin,  on  the  C.  D.  &  V.  Railroad,  a  distance 
of  140  miles.  Construction  was  delayed  till  end  of  1875, 
when  40  miles  were  completed,  and  the  remainder  is  now 
approaching  completion. 

The  maximum  grade  is  35  feet  to  the  mile,  maintained  for 
y  of  a  mile,  and  the  proportion  of  grade  to  level  is  1  to  1^. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  30  (1,910  feet  radius),  and  the 
proportion  of  curvature  to  tangent  as  1  to  222. 

The  weight  of  rail  is  30  pounds  to  the  yard. 

Weight  of  engines,  12  tons. 

Average  cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equipment,  $ 6,ooo . 

Equipment — 2  locomotives,  2  passenger  cars,  2  baggage 
and  express,  85  freight  cars. 

Financial  statement — Capital  stock  authorized,  $1,000,000; 
paid  in,  $200,000;  funded  debt,  10%  first  mortgage  bonds,  due 
1885,  $650,000,  $11,000  sold;  floating  debt,  $50,000. 

Benj.  J.  Gifford,  President,  Rantoul,  Ills. 

Guy  D.  Penfield,  Secretary,  Rantoul,  Ills. 

HOT  SPRINGS  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  incorporated  by  the  Arkansas  Legisla¬ 
ture  in  1870,  to  build  a  railroad  from  Malvern  to  Hot  Springs, 
a  distance  of  25  miles,  but  nothing  was  done  until  1875,  when 
the  line  was  put  under  construction  and  completed  at  the  end 
of  the  year. 

The  maximum  grade  is  106  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  20°  (288  feet  radius). 

The  weight  of  rail  is  35  pounds  to  the  yard. 

Weight  of  engines,  1 5  p2  tons. 

Average  cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equipment,  $15,000. 

Equipment — 2  locomotives,  3  passenger  cars,  I  baggage  and 
express,  22  freight  cars. 

Financial  statement — Capital  stock  authorized,  $250,000  ; 
paid  in,  $250,000. 

Jos.  Reynolds,  President,  Hot  Springs,  Ark. 

G.  D.  C.  Rumbaugh,  Engineer,  Little  Rock,  Ark. 


74 

IOWA  EASTERN  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  incorporated  in  1871  to  construct  a  nar¬ 
row  gauge  railway  from  Beulah,  on  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  & 
St.  Paul  Railway,  south-west  via  Elkader  to  Des  Moines,  a 
distance  of  about  200  miles.  Work  commenced  in  the  early 
part  of  1872,  and  during  the  summer,  15  miles  were  laid.  In 
October  the  line  was  opened  for  traffic,  without  a  station,  en¬ 
gine  house,  water  tank,  turn-table  and  money.  The  only  station 
at  the  south  end  was  a  cloth  tent,  and  that  at  Beulah  a  baggage 
car.  Box  tops  were  put  on  platform  cars  and  16  transformed 
into  box  cars.  In  the  face  of  the  greatest  difficulties,  the  rail¬ 
road  was  kept  in  operation  during  the  winter  of  1872-3,  all 
freight  at  Beulah  having  to  be  transhipped  by  hand,  the  grain 
having  to  be  handled  in  sacks.  In  December,  1872,  100  car 
loads  of  freight  were  delivered  to  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  & 
St.  Paul  Railway,  which  made  a  very  liberal  arrangement  by 
which  the  little  road  obtained  a  fair  return.  During  1874  one 
and  a  half  miles  of  wooden  track  were  laid,  and  the  following 
year  3  miles  of  wooden  track  and  one  mile  of  iron  rail. 

The  maximum  grade  is  60  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  weight  of  rail,  30  and  35  pounds  to  the  yard. 

Weight  of  engines,  12  tons. 

Cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equipment,  $12,000. 

Equipment — 2  locomotives,  2  passenger  cars,  31  freight  cars. 

Operations  for  year  ending  December  31,  1875 — Gross  earn¬ 
ings,  $32,510.07;  operating  expenses,  $20,477.15  (63  per  cent.). 
This  amount  includes  complete  overhauling  of  road  and  roll¬ 
ing  stock.  Net  earnings,  $12,032.92. 

Financial  statement  not  published. 

E.  H.  Williams,  President,  McGregor,  Iowa. 

Frank  Larrabee,  Secretary,  McGregor,  Iowa. 

H.  H.  Kerr,  Chief  Engineer  and  Superintendent. 

KANSAS  CENTRAL  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  organized  on  the  1st  of  June,  1871,  with 
the  above  title,  to  construct  a  railway  westward  from  Leaven¬ 
worth  to  Denver,  with  branches  from  Holton  to  Netawaka, 
and  Clay  Centre  to  Salinas,  a  total  length  of  main  line  and 


75 


branches  as  projected  of  550  miles.  The  country  to  be  trav¬ 
ersed  is  acknowledged  to  be  the  most  fertile  and  promising 
section  of  Kansas  ;  the  line  of  road  passing  through  the  most 
densely  populated  agricultural  region  of  the  State.  Construc¬ 
tion  was  commenced  in  1872,  and  during  that  year  56  miles 
were  completed  and  put  in  operation  between  Leavenworth 
and  Holton. 

The  maximum  grade  is  75  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  sharpest  curvature,  120  (478  feet  radius). 

The  weight  of  rail  is  30  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  passenger  engines,  12 y2  tons. 

The  weight  of  freight  engines,  tons. 

Cost  of  road,  with  equipment,  per  mile,  $14,820. 

Equipment — 3  locomotives,  2  passenger  cars,  91  freight  cars 
of  all  classes. 

Operations  and  financial  statement  not  published. 

L.  T.  Smith,  President,  Leavenworth,  Kansas. 

Paul  E.  Havens,  Secretary,  Leavenworth,  Kansas. 

Wm.  R.  Martin,  Superintendent,  Leavenworth,  Kansas. 

MARTHA’S  VINEYARD  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  organized  in  1874  to  construct  a  nar¬ 
row  gauge  railway  across  the  Island  of  Martha’s  Vineyard, 
Mass.,  between  Oak  Bluffs  and  Katama,  a  distance  of  9  miles, 
to  accommodate  the  summer  pleasure  travel.  Work  was  com¬ 
menced  in  the  early  part  of  the  year,  the  line  being  com¬ 
pleted  and  open  for  traffic  August  24th. 

The  maximum  grade  is  52  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  90  (637  feet  radius). 

The  weight  of  rail  is  30  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  engine,  10  tons. 

Average  cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equipment, 

$9>394-9°- 

Equipment — 1  locomotive,  3  passenger  cars. 

The  company  is  doing  a  paying  business. 

E.  P.  Carpenter,  President,  Foxboro,  Mass. 

Joseph  Pease,  treasurer,  Edgartown,  Mass. 

Henry  Ripley,  Superintendent,  Edgartown,  Mass. 


y6 


MEMPHIS  BRANCH  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  organized  at  Rome,  Georgia,  in  1873,  to 
construct  a  narrow  gauge  railway  from  Rome  westward  to 
Gadsden,  Alabama,  a  distance  of  about  17  miles,  which  were 
graded,  and  five  miles  ironed  about  the  end  of  the  year. 

The  maximum  grade  is  66  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  sharpest  curvature,  40  30'  (1,273*4  feet  radius). 

The  weight  of  rail  is  28  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  engine,  10  tons. 

Cost  per  mile,  including  equipment,  $13,600. 

Equipment — 1  locomotive,  1  passenger  car,  5  freight  cars  of 
all  classes. 

W.  S.  Cothran,  President,  Rome,  Ga. 

C.  H.  Stillwell,  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  Rome,  Ga. 

C.  M.  Pennington,  Superintendent,  Rome,  Ga. 

MINERAL  RANGE  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  chartered  by  the  Legislature  of  Michi¬ 
gan  in  1871,  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  a  railroad  from 
Copper  Harbor,  on  Lake  Superior,  thence  following  the  general 
direction  of  the  Mineral  Range  (so  called),  southwesterly  to 
some  point  on  Ontanagon  river,  an  estimated  distance  of  100 
miles.  Construction  on  the  first  division  (Hancock  to  Calu¬ 
met),  1 2 ^2  miles,  was  commenced  on  the  opening  of  the  sum¬ 
mer  of  1872,  and  after  the  long  winter  succeeding,  was  re¬ 
sumed  and  carried  on  with  all  the  energy  requisite  to  over¬ 
come  the  obstacles  presented  by  the  hard  climate  and  rough 
face  of  the  country.  Track  laying  was  commenced  August  8, 
1873,  and  on  September  8,  trains  were  run  from  Hancock  to 
Highway  Crossing,  8  miles,  and  on  October  the  1  ith,  to  Calu¬ 
met,  12}4  miles.  There  has  been  no  furthur  construction. 

The  maximum  grade  is  21 1  feet  to  the  mile.  There  is  also 
a  grade  of  146  feet  per  mile  sustained  for  two  miles. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  140  (410  feet  radius),  and  the  pro¬ 
portion  of  curvature  to  tangent  in  entire  line  is  1  to  3.23. 

The  weight  of  rail  is  35  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  engines,  six  drivers  connected,  1 7*4  and  20 


77 


tons;  with  the  exception  of  two  tons,  all  placed  over  the 
drivers. 

Average  cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equipment,  $29,- 
324-33- 

Equipment — 3  locomotives,  4  passenger  cars,  24  freight  cars 
of  all  classes. 

Operations  for  year  ending  December  31,  1875 — Gross 

earnings,  $86,000.59;  operating  expenses,  $55,664.41,  (64.72 
per  cent.),  net  earnings,  $30,336.18,  out  of  which  was  paid, 
for  interest  and  taxes,  $24,  164.17,  leaving  surplus  of  $6,- 
172.01. 

Financial  statement — Capital  stock  authorized,  $400,000 ; 
paid  in,  $112,160;  funded  debt,  first  mortgage  8  per  cent, 
bonds,  due  1888,  $183,000;  floating  debt,  $90,578.29. 

Chas.  E.  Holland,  President  and  Superintendent,  Hancock, 
Michigan. 

A.  H.  Viele,  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  Hancock,  Michigan. 

MONTEREY  AND  SALINAS  VALLEY  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  organized  early  in  1874,  by  the  farmers 
of  Salinas  Valley,  California,  who  were  at  the  mercy  of  rail¬ 
road  corporatious  in  that  State,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying 
their  grain,  etc.,  to  the  sea,  instead  of  to  San  Francisco,  and 
which  would  make  them  independent  of  monopoly  in  any 
form  whatever.  With  an  enterprise  that  does  them  much 
credit,  they  went  to  work  and  located  a  line  between  Salinas 
and  Monterey,  where  there  is  deep  water,  a  distance  of  19 
miles,  and  also  erected  two  large  warehouses,  opening  the  line 
for  traffic  in  October.  It  is  intended  to  extend  the  railroad  up 
the  valley  to  Soledad,  35  miles. 

The  maximum  grade  is  100  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  sharpest  curvature,  io°  (573  feet  radius). 

The  weight  of  rail  is  35  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  engines,  18  tons. 

Cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equipment  and  erection  of 
two  warehouses,  $13,000. 

The  line  is  reported  as  doing  a  very  good  business. 

Financial  statement  not  returned. 


78 

C.  S.  Abbott,  President,  Salinas  City,  Monterey  County, 
California. 

John  Markley,  Secretary,  Salinas  City,  Monterey  County, 
California. 

MONTROSE  RAILROAD- 

This  company  was  incorporated  April  15,  1869,  under  the 
general  law  of  Pennsylvania,  to  build  a  railroad  between  Mon¬ 
trose  and  Tunkhannock.  No  action  was  taken  until  April  27, 
1871,  when  the  first  meeting  was  held  and  the  board  of  direc¬ 
tors  elected.  It  was  then  resolved  that  the  road  should  be 
built  on  a  narrow  gauge  of  three  feet,  as  it  would  be  sufficient 
for  all  the  business  likely  to  be  offered,  and  could  be  con¬ 
structed  for  so  much  less  than  a  4  feet  8j^  inch  gauge. 

Surveys  were  commenced  May  15th,  1871,  and  a  favorable 
line,  28  miles  long,  located  as  follows :  From  the  depot  of  the 
Pennsylvania  and  New  York  Canal  and  Railroad  Company  at 
Tunkhannock  to  Marcy’s  Pond,  thence  along  the  west  bank  of 
the  Pond  to  a  summit  between  the  waters  of  Marcy’s  Pond 
and  the  Meshoppen  Creek  ;  crossing  the  same,  it  runs  in  a 
nearly  direct  line  to  the  village  of  Springville,  thence  by  the 
village  of  Dimock  into  the  borough  of  Montrose.  Grading 
was  commenced  in  the  summer,  the-  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad 
Company  agreeing  to  furnish  the  rails,  ties,  spikes  and  splices 
necessary  for  the  superstructure  as  soon  as  it  was  completed. 
During  1872,  the  line  was  placed  in  running  order  to  Spring¬ 
ville,  14  miles,  and  by  the  end  of  1873,  to  Allenville,  25  miles. 

The  maximum  grade  is  95  feet  to  the  mile;  the  average 
ascending  grade  between  Tunkhannock  and  Montrose  being 
38  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  180  (320  feet  radius). 

The  weight  of  rail  is  40  pounds  to  the  yard. 

*  The  weight  of  engine,  1 5  tons. 

Cost  of  road,  including  equipment,  per  mile,  $12,844. 

Equipment — 2  locomotives,  2  passenger  cars,  1  baggage, 
mail  and  express  car,  13  freight  cars  of  all  classes. 

Operations  for  11  months  ending  Nov.  30,  1875.  Gross 
Earnings  $22,449.54.  Operating  Expenses,  $14,292.18,  (63.66 
per  cent.)  Net  Earnings,  $8,157.36. 


79 


Financial  statement,  December  31,  1873 — Capital  stock 
authorized,  $500,000 ;  subscribed,  $278,450;  paid  in,  $248,351 ; 
funded  debt,  7  per  cent,  bonds  maturing  1892,  $30,900; 
floating  debt,  $43,821.84;  total  liabilities,  $323,072.84. 

James  J.  Blakslee,  President,  Mauch  Chunk,  Pa. 

Charles  L.  Brown,  Secretary,  Montrose,  Pa. 

NATCHEZ,  JACKSON  AND  COLUMBUS  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  incorporated  by  the  Legislature  of  Mis¬ 
sissippi,  in  1871,  to  construct  a  railway  from  Natchez,  via 
Jackson  to  Columbus,  a  distance  of  about  180  miles.  Work 
was  commenced  in  the  latter  part  of  1872,  a  gauge  of  3'  6 " 
being  adopted,  and  the  road  located  from  Natchez  northeast 
25^  miles  to  Fayette,  the  county  seat  of  Jefferson  county — 
the  road  bed  being  completed  for  12  miles  out  of  Natchez. 
The  rails  were  laid  on  ten  miles  during  1873.  On  February 
10,  1874,  the  President  of  the  Company  invited  proposals  for 
the  construction,  completion  and  equipment  of  the  road  to 
Fayette,  the  company  paying  no  money  on  the  contract,  but 
offering  its  property  £  nd  resources  for  the  ultimate  satisfaction 
of  the  contractor,  which  consists  of  bonds  of  the  county  of 
Adams,  amounting  to  $134,900,  bearing  an  interest  of  seven 
per  cent.,  payable  annually  ;  of  timber  sufficient" for  all  bridges 
as  far  as  3to\  miles  from  the  terminus  of  the  completed 
section,  of  one  hundred  tons  of  rails  not  yet  laid,  and  the 
power  of  the  company  for  leasing  or  mortgaging  the  road, 
which  is  now  unincumbered. 

Every  effort  to  obtain  late  information  has  been  unsuc¬ 
cessful. 

W.  D.  Martin,  President,  Natchez,  Miss. 

J.  H.  Fitzpatrick,  Secretary,  Natchez,  Miss. 

S.  M.  Preston,  Chief  Engineer,  Natchez,  Miss, 

NEVADA  COUNTY  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  organized  in  1874  to  build  a  narrow 
gauge  road  from  Colfax  to  Grass  Valley,  16  miles;  but  nothing 
was  done  till  1875  when  it  was  resolved  to  pass  through  Grass 
Valley  to  Nevada  City,  a  distance  of  22  miles.  During  1875 


8o 


fourteen  miles  were  completed,  and  the  entire  line  is  now  being 
operated. 

The  maximum  grade  is  116^  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  190  (303  feet  radius). 

The  weight  of  rail  is  35  pounds  to  the  yard. 

Weight  of  engines,  20  tons. 

Equipment — 2  locomotives,  2  passenger  cars,  2  baggage 
and  express,  30  freight  cars. 

Financial  statement  not  published. 

John  C.  Coleman,  President,  Nevada  City,  Col. 

John  F.  Kidder,  Superintendent,  Nevada  City,  Col. 

NORTH  PACIFIC  COAST  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  incorporated  and  certificate  filed  in  the 
office  of  the  Secretary  of  State  of  California,  December  19, 1871. 

The  line  of  route  is  as  follows:  Starting  at  deep  water  at 
Sancelito,  just  opposite  the  City  of  San  Francisco,  with  which 
it  connects  by  ferries,  it  skirts  for  two  miles  the  shore  of 
Richardson’s  Bay;  thence  crossing  an  arm  of  the  same  bay  by 
means  of  a  substantial  bridge  4,000  feet  in  length,  it  passes 
through  Marin  county,  via  the  town  of  San  Rafael,  to  To- 
males,  at  the  head  of  the  bay  of  that  name ;  thence  through 
Sonoma  county  to  the  Russian  River,  crossing  which  four 
miles  from  its  mouth,  it  follows  near  the  coast  of  the  ocean  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Walhalla  River,  a  distance  of  1 1 5  miles,  and 
is  projected  from  there  to  Humboldt  Bay,  making  total  length 
of  line  225  miles.  The  line  passes  through  a  very  fertile  and 
wealthy  region.  The  topography  of  the  country  it  traverses 
warranted  the  largest  estimate  of  economy  in  first  cost,  equip¬ 
ment  and  operation.  The  narrow  gauge  possessing  these 
features,  it  was  accordingly  adopted. 

The  surveys  were  made  in  1872,  work  being  commenced 
at  various  points  on  the  main  line  in  February  of  the  follow¬ 
ing  year.  Owing  to  the  several  tunnels,  bridging  and  trestle 
work,  track-laying  was  delayed  until  1874,  when  51  miles  were 
ironed  and  opened  for  traffic  about  the  end  of  the  year.  Nine 
miles  additional  were  completed  in  1875,  and  several  miles  are 
under  construction,  and  will  shortly  be  put  in  operation. 


8i 


The  maximum  grade  is  121  feet  to  the  mile,  maintained  for 
2/4  miles.  There  is  also  one  of  85  feet,  1  ^  miles  long,  and 
another  of  80  feet,  2  miles  in  length,  and  the  average  grade  is 
exceptionally  heavy. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  22°  23' (256  feet  radius),  set  out 
on  the  maximum  grade.  The  prevailing  curvature  is  io°  to 
160;  the  proportion  of  curvature  to  tangent  being  about  as  5 
is  to  3. 

Number  of  lineal  feet,  trestle  and  pile  bridges,  17,600. 

Number  of  lineal  feet,  truss  bridges,  570. 

There  are  several  tunnels  on  the  line,  one  being  1250  feet 
in  length. 

The  weight  of  rail  is  35  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  engines,  four  wheels  and  six  wheels  con¬ 
nected,  is  22^  tons,  1 6  and  17  tons  being  placed  over  the 
drivers.  One  engine,  on  the  Fairlie  principle,  single  boiler, 
six  wheels  connected,  weighs  32  tons,  24  tons  being  placed 
over  the  drivers. 

The  average  cost  per  mile,  including  equipment  for  first 
division,  is  estimated  at  $23,400. 

Equipment — 9  locomotives,  9  passenger  cars,  3  baggage 
mail  and  express,  190  freight  cars  of  all  classes. 

Operations — The  line  being  under  construction,  no  returns 
have  been  received. 

A.  D.  Moore,  Prest.,  426  California  street,  San  Francisco, 
California. 

Howard  Schuyler,  Chief  Engineer,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Geo.  F.  Hartwell,  Superintendent,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

NORTH  AND  SOUTH  OF  GEORGIA  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  organized  in  the  city  of  Rome,  Ga.,  on 
August  nth,  1871,  under  and  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature  of 
the  State  of  Georgia,  approved  October  24,  1870,  to  construct 
a  narrow  gauge  railway  from  Columbus  to  Rome,  a  distance 
of  130  miles,  via  La  Grange  and  Carrollton. 

During  1872,  some  60  miles  were  graded,  and  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  year  a  few  miles  were  ironed.  In  1873,  23  miles 
were  opened  for  traffic  between  Columbus  and  Hamilton.  No- 
6 


82 


thing  further  has  been  done,  owing  to  the  late  panic,  and  the 
railway  has  now  passed  into  the  hands  of  a  Receiver  since  its 
failure  to  pay  the  interest  on  the  bonds  issued  it  by  the  State. 

The  maximum  grade  is  90  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  sharpest  curvature  6°  (955  feet  radius). 

The  weight  of  rail  is  30  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  engines,  1 5  tons. 

Cost  per  mile,  including  equipment,  $15,000. 

Equipment — 2  locomotives,  2  passenger  cars,  4  baggage  and 
express,  16  freight  cars  of  all  classes. 

Operations  and  financial  statement  not  published. 

T.  E.  Blanchard,  President,  Columbus,  Ga. 

Dr.  Llewellen,  Receiver,  Columbus,  Ga. 

OHIO  AND  TOLEDO  RAILROAD. 

This  Company  was  incorporated  in  1872,  and  is  a  continua¬ 
tion  of  the  Painesville  and  Youngstown  Railroad,  with  which 
it  connects  at  the  latter  point,  running  by  the  valley  of  Mill 
Creek  to  Columbiana,  thence  by  way  of  Leetonia,  Guilford, 
Hanover,  Lynchburg,  East  Rochester,  Minerva,  Oneida  and 
Carrollton,  to  the  Conotton  Valley,  terminating  at  Cannons- 
burg,  in  the  vast  coal  fields  of  Carroll  and  Tuscarawas  coun¬ 
ties,  a  total  distance  of  65  miles,  and  from  thence  is  projected  to 
Toledo.  Work  was  commenced  in  the  summer  of  1874,  and 
22  miles,  between  Oneida  and  Guilford,  built  on  the  towing 
path  of  the  old  Sandy  and  Beaver  Canal,  were  completed  and 
opened  for  traffic  in  September.  The  balance  of  the  road  is 
now  under  construction  and  will  shortly  be  in  operation. 

The  grades  and  curves  are  very  easy. 

The  weight  of  rail  is  32  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  engines,  16  tons. 

Cost  per  mile,  including  equipment,  estimated  at  $9,000. 

Equipment — 3  locomotives,  4  passenger  cars,  16  freight  cars 
of  all  classes. 

E.  R.  Eckley,  President,  Carrollton,  Ohio. 

Geo.  P.  Davis,  Treasurer,  Minerva,  Ohio. 

S.  Weaver,  Secretary,  Minerva,  Ohio. 


83 

OLYMPIA  RAILROAD. 


This  company  was  organized  in  1873,  at  San  Francisco,  to 
construct  a  narrow  gauge  railway  from  Olympia,  the  capital 
of  Washington  Territory,  to  Tenino,  twenty-five  miles  below 
Puget  Sound,  where  are  situated  some  coal  lands — a  distance 
of  about  20  miles.  Work  was  commenced  in  1874,  and  about 
the  end  of  the  year  the  line  was  completed.  No  statistical 
information  could  be  obtained. 

Average  cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equipment,  $15,000. 

Financial  statement — Capital  stock  authorized,  $1,000,000. 

Olympia  Railroad  and  Mining  Company,  San  Francisco, 
California. 

PAINESVILLE  AND  YOUNGSTOWN  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  organized,  and  certificate  of  incorpora¬ 
tion  filed  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State  for  Ohio,  No¬ 
vember  17,  1870  ;  being,  we  believe,  the  second  narrow  gauge 
railway  company  formed  in  the  United  States.  The  line  of 
route  is  from  Fairport  Harbor  on  Lake  Erie,  via.  Painesville, 
and  the  counties  of  Lake,  Geauga,  Trumbull  and  Mahoning  to 
Youngstown,  a  distance  of  64-jQ  miles. 

The  engineers  commenced  surveying  the  line  on  July  24th, 
1871.  In  locating  the  line  the  advantages  offered  by  the  par¬ 
tially  constructed  road-bed  of  the  Painesville  and  Hudson  Rail¬ 
road  were  availed  of  to  Chardon,  a  distance  of  12  miles.  The 
company  for  the  use  of  this  road-bed  paid  $60,000. 

On  July  4th,  1872,  twelve  miles  were  completed  and  put  in 
operation,  and  in  the  following  year  eleven  miles  additional, 
making  the  total  line  operated  during  1873,  23  miles.  Forty- 
one  miles  were  completed  in  1874,  thus  making  the  total 
amount  of  track  laid  on  December  31st,  1874,  64  miles,  of 
which  only  fifty  miles  were  operated,  owing  to  want  of  depot 
facilities,  and  difficulties  of  procuring  right  of  way  through  the 
corporation  limits  of  the  city  of  Youngstown. 

The  maximum  grade,  which  it  was  found  necessary  to  main¬ 
tain  for  two  miles,  is  82  feet  per  mile ;  there  is  also  one  of  60 
feet,  maintained  for  three  miles. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  140  (410  feet  radius.) 


84 


The  weight  of  rail  is  35  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  passenger  engines,  12  tons. 

The  weight  of  freight  engines,  1 8  tons. 

Average  cost  per  mile,  including  equipment,  $19,000. 

Equipment — 6  locomotives,  4  passenger  cars,  2  baggage,  mail 
and  express  cars,  73  freight  cars  of  all  classes. 

Financial  Statement — According  to  the  latest  returns,  capital 
stock  authorized,  $2,000,000;  paid  in,  $571,314. 

Paul  Wick,  President,  Youngstown,  Ohio. 

A.  B.  Cornell,  Secretary,  Youngstown,  Ohio. 

Mason  Evans,  Assistant  Secretary,  Youngstown,  Ohio. 

L.  F.  M’Aleer,  Superintendent,  Youngstown,  Ohio. 

PARKER  AND  KARNS  CITY  RAILROAD. 

This  Company  was  incorporated  June  30th,  1873,  under  the 
General  Railroad  Law  of  Pennsylvania,  to  construct  a  narrow 
gauge  railway  from  Parker  Junction,  on  the  Alleghany  River, 
to  Karns  City,  in  Butler  county,  a  distance  of  10  miles.  The 
line  runs  up  the  winding  valley  of  Bear  Creek,  passing  through 
Petrolia  and  the  lower  oil  regions,  and  is  projected  beyond 
Karns  City  to  Millerstown.  The  road  was  placed  under  con¬ 
struction  in  1873,  and  by  the  end  of  the  year  four  miles  were 
in  operation.  On  April  8th,  1874,  the  line  between  Parker 
Junction  and  Karns  City  was  formally  opened  for  traffic. 

The  maximum  grade  is  96  feet  to  the  mile,  and  the  average 
for  the  entire  line  is  83  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  maximum  curvature  on  the  main  line  is  270  (212  feet 
radius),  on  side  track  470  (122  feet  radius). 

The  weight  of  rail  is  30  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  passenger  locomotives,  16 y2  tons. 

The  weight  of  freight  locomotives,  18  tons. 

The  cost  per  mile,  including  equipment,  $26,012.88. 

Equipment — 4  locomotives,  5  passenger  cars,  2  baggage, 
mail  and  express,  43  freight  cars  of  all  classes. 

Operations  for  year  ending  December  31st,  1874: — 

During  the  first  three  months  only  four  miles  were  operated, 
and  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  the  expenses  were  exception- 


85  ' 

ally  heavy,  so  that  the  following  figures  should  not  be  taken 
as  a  test  of  the  road  : 

Gross  earnings  $131 ,689.90 ;  operating  expenses,  $74,997.0 1 . 
(56.9  per  cent.)  Net  earnings,  $56,692.89. 

Financial  Statement — Capital  stock  authorized,  $150,000; 
paid  in,  $75,000;  funded  debt,  first  mortgage  7  per  cent,  gold 
bonds,  $63,000  :  floating  debt,  $78,442.44. 

Sami.  D.  Karns,  President,  Parker,  Pa. 

F.  Parker,  Vice-President,  Parker,  Pa. 

R.  M.  Moore,  Auditor,  Parker,  Pa. 

W.  C.  Mobley,  Superintendent,  Parker,  Pa. 

PEACHBOTTOM  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  incorporated  by  an  Act  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  approved  March  24th,  1868.  Sup¬ 
plements  thereto  were  passed  at  the  sessions  of  the  Legislature 
in  1871-2,  1872-3,  granting  additional  privileges.  During 
1872  the  line  was  located  as  follows :  Leaving  Oxford,  on  the 
Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  Central  Railroad,  it  pursues  a  west¬ 
ward  course  through  Lancaster  county,  crossing  the  Susque¬ 
hanna  river  just  opposite  Peachbottom,  thence  northwestward 
to  York,  a  distance  of  60  miles.  From  York  it  is  proposed  to 
extend  the  line  to  the  eastern  terminus  of  the  East  Broad  Top 
Railroad,  85  miles,  thus  forming  a  through  coal  route  145 
miles  in  length,  from  the  great  coal  field  of  Broad  Top,  eighty 
square  miles  in  area,  to  the  eastern  markets.  Some  twelve 
miles  were  graded  in  1872,  and  during  the  following  year  track 
was  laid  on  eight  miles,  but  was  not  operated.  In  1874,  38 
miles  were  completed  and  put  in  operation,  and  the  following 
year  7  miles  were  completed,  and  early  in  1876  the  line  was 
finished. 

The  maximum  grade  is  105  feet  to  the  mile,  maintained  for 
2  y2  miles.  . 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  190  (303  feet  radius). 

The  weight  of  rail  is  30  pounds  to  the  yard. 

Weight  of  engines,  10  to  14  tons,  nearly  all  placed  over 
drivers. 

Average  cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equipment,  $1 1,500. 


86 


Equipment,  4  locomotives,  4  passenger  cars,  2  baggage  and 
express,  24  freight  cars. 

Financial  statement:  Capital  stock  authorized,  $1,000,000, 
paid  in,  $218,552.  Funded  debt,  first  mortgage  7  per  cent, 
bonds  due  1904 — total  issue  $650,000.  Amount  sold,  $350,- 
400.  Floating  debt,  $9,264. 

S.  G.  Boyd,  President,  York,  Pa. 

Samuel  Dickey,  Vice  President,  Oxford,  Pa. 

PEEKSKILL  VALLEY  RAILROAD. 

This  railway  was  built  by  the  Peekskill  Iron  Company  in 
1873,  from  their  furnaces,  at  Peekskill,  Westchester  county, 
to  a  point  on  the  Hudson  River  Railroad,  a  distance  of  seven 
miles.  The  gauge  of  this  railway  is  two  feet,  and  it  is  the 
narrowest  freight  carrier  on  this  continent.  The  superstructure 
and  equipment  is  very  light.  The  only  statistical  data  obtained 
is  that  the  weight  of  the  engine  is  four  tons. 

Communications  should  be  addressed  to  the  company. 

PITTSBURG  AND  CASTLE  SHANNON  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  incorporated  under  the  General  Railroad 
Law  of  Pennsylvania,  April  4th,  1868,  to  construct  a  railway 
from  Pittsburg  to  Finleyville  via  Castle  Shannon,  where  are 
situated  the  coal  mines  of  the  company ;  the  line  has  since 
been  projected  to  Waynesburg,  in  Greene  county,  45  miles 
south  of  Pittsburg.  Part  of  the  road  was  purchased  from  the 
Pittsburg  Coal  Company,  who  had  laid  down  a  track  of  3  feet 
4  inches,  which  gauge-has  been  adhered  to.  During  1872 
three  miles  were  placed  in  operation,  and  the  following  year 
three  additional,  bringing  the  line  to  Castle  Shannon.  In  1874 
four  miles  were  constructed,  making  total  length  of  track  laid, 
December  31st,  10  miles.  The  entire  road  is  built  very  sub¬ 
stantially  in  order  to  sustain  a  heavy  coal  traffic. 

The  maximum  grade  is  80  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  sharpest  curvature  45 0  50'  (125  feet  radius). 

The  weight  of  rail  is  45  pounds  and  60  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  passenger  engine,  12  tons. 

The  weight  of  freight  engines,  from  9  to  20  tons. 


87 


Cost  per  mile,  including  equipment,  $40,000. 

Equipment — 6  locomotives,  7  passenger  cars,  416  coal  cars. 

Operations  for  year  ending  December  31st,  1874:  Gross 
earnings,  $352,000;  operating  expenses,  $280,000  (79.54  per 
cent.);  net  earnings,  72,000. 

Financial  Statement — Capital  stock  authorized,  $1,000,000; 
paid  up,  $525,622.30;  funded  debt,  first  mortgage  6  per  cent, 
bonds,  $246,000;  floating  debt,  $83,000. 

M.  D.  Hays,  President,  Pittsburg,  Pa. 

Josiah  Reamer,  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  Pittsburg,  Pa. 

PENNSBORO  AND  HARRISVILLE  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  incorporated  in  1875  by  the  Legislature 
of  West  Virginia  to  build  a  narrow  gauge  railroad  between  the 
above  places  in  Ritchie  county,  a  distance  of  9  miles.  The 
road  was  first  used  as  a  horse  tramway,  but  later  in  the  year  a 
small  locomotive  was  placed  on  the  road. 

The  maximum  grade  is  300  feet  to  the  mile,  maintained  for 

of  a  mile. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  100  feet  radius. 

No.  of  bridges,  6 ;  aggregate  length,  600  feet.  No.  of  trestles, 
1  1  aggregate  length,  220  feet. 

The  weight  of  rail  is  12  pounds  to  the  yard,  placed  on  wood 
stringers  and  cross  ties  3  feet  apart. 

Weight  of  engine,  6p£  tons  with  tender;  5  tons  on  drivers. 

Average  cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equipment,  $3,000. 

Equipment — 1  locomotive,  I  passenger  car,  2  freight  cars. 

Operations — Road  just  opened. 

Financial  Statement — Capital  stock  authorized,  $12,000; 
paid  in,  $12,000 ;  funded  debt,  1st  mortgage  8%  bonds,  due 
August  6th,  1885,  $15,000;  floating  debt,  $3,000. 

M.  P.  Kimball,  President,  Pennsboro,  West  Va. 

Thos.  E.  Davis,  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  Pennsboro,  West 
Va. 

RIO  GRANDE  RAILWAY. 

This  Company’s  charter  is  dated  August  12th,  1870,  but  it 
was  not  organized  till  May  22d,  1871,  when  it  was  resolved 


88 


to  build  a  railway  from  Brownsville  on  the  Rio  Grande,  oppo¬ 
site  Matamoras,  Mexico,  eastward  to  Point  Isabel,  in  the 
harbor  of  Brazos  Santiago,  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  a  distance 
of  22  miles,  with  a  gauge  of  3  feet  6  inches.  Work  was  com¬ 
menced  in  1872,  and  eight  miles  constructed  during  that  year. 
In  1873  fourteen  miles  were  built,  completing  the  road,  when  it 
was  opened  for  traffic. 

The  maximum  grade  is  8  feet  to  the  mile,  and  the  curvature 
almost  nil. 

The  weight  of  rail  is  36  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  engines  is  14  tons. 

The  Secretary  reports  that  they  are  doing  a  very  good 
business. 

Financial  statement  not  published. 

Antonio  Longaria,  Prest.,  Brownsville,  Cameron  Co.,  Texas. 

Jos.  Kleiber,  Secretary,  Brownsville,  Cameron  Co.,  Texas. 

IT  N.  Zook,  Superintendent,  Brownsville,  Cameron  County, 
Texas. 

RIPLEY  RAILROAD. 

This  Company  was- organized  in  1871,  to  build  a  narrow 
gauge  road  from  Middletown,  a  station  on  the  Memphis  and 
Charleston  Railroad,  to  Ripley,  in  Tippah  county,  Miss.,  a  dis¬ 
tance  of  26  miles.  Grading  was  commenced  and  completed 
by  the  Company,  and  the  iron  and  equipment  furnished  by  the 
Southern  Security  Company,  who  own  and  operate  the  road; 
the  line  being  opened  for  traffic  in  the  latter  part  of  1872. 

The  maximum  grade  is  106  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  weight  of  rail  is  35  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  engines,  12  to  15  tons. 

Cost  of  road,  including  equipment,  per  mile,  $12,500. 

Equipment — 2  locomotives,  2  passenger  cars,  1  baggage, 
1 5  freight  cars  of  all  descriptions. 

Operations  and  financial  statement  not  published. 

Communications  should  be  addressed  to  the  Southern  Secu¬ 
rity  Company,  Memphis,  Tenn. 

SAN  LUIS  OBISPO  AND  STA.  MARIA  RAILROAD. 

This  Company  was  organized  in  1873  to  construct  a  narrow 
gauge  railway  from  San  Luis  Obispo,  California,  to  the  steamer 


89 


landing  on  the  bay  at  Avila,  thence  south  via  Arroya  Grande 
into  Santa  Maria  county,  a  distance  of  about  36  miles.  Work 
was  commenced  in  1874  on  the  division  between  San  Luis 
Obispo  and  Avila,  9  mile’s,  which  were  completed  in  1875,  and 
several  miles  are  now  under  construction. 

The  maximum  grade  is  1 16  feet  to  the  mile,  maintained  for 
7,000  feet. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  1 5 0  (383  feet  radius)  and  the  pro¬ 
portion  of  curvature  to  tangent  in  entire  line  56  per  cent. 

No.  of  bridges,  6.  Aggregate  length,  300  feet. 

No.  pieces  of  piling,  16.  Aggregate  length  5,000  feet. 

The  weight  of  rail  is  42  pounds  to  the  yard. 

Weight  of  engines,  16  tons. 

Estimated  average  cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equipment 
—$12,500. 

Equipment — 1  locomotive,  1  passenger  car,  1  baggage  and 
express,  10  freight  cars. 

Financial  Statement — Capital  stock,  authorized  $500,000. 

Christopher  Nelson,  President,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

W.  H.  Knight,  Secretary,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

L.  H.  Shortt,  C.  E.  and  Supt.,  San  Luis  Obispo,  Cal. 

SANTA  CRUZ  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  organized  in  1873  to  build  a  narrow 
gauge  railway  from  the  harbor  of  Santa  Cruz  to  Watsonville,  a 
station  on  the  Southern  Pacific  Railway,  a  distance  of  20  miles. 
Grading  commenced  the  same  year,  but  tracklaying  was 
delayed  until  the  end  of  1874,  when  8  miles  were  ironed,  and 
the  following  year  the  road  was  completed. 

No  statistical  information  could  be  obtained. 

F.  A.  Hihn,  President  and  Manager,  Santa  Cruz,  California. 

SUMMIT  COUNTY  RAILROAD. 

This  Company  was  organized  in  1873  in  Salt  Lake  City,  to 
construct  a  narrow  gauge  railway  from  Echo,  a  station  on  the 
Union  Pacific  Railway,  south-eastward  to  Coalville,  a  distance 
of  about  9  miles.  Work  was  commenced  and  the  line  com¬ 
pleted  and  opened  during  1873.  A  company  has  since  been 


90 

incorporated  to  build  a  line  35  miles  in  length,  from  Coalville 
westward  to  Salt  Lake  City. 

The  maximum  grade  is  300  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  sharpest  curvature  not  known. 

The  weight  of  rail  is  30  pounds  to  the  yard. 

No  further  information  obtainable. 

J.  A.  Young,  President,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah  T. 

William  M.  Riter,  Superintendent,  Coalville,  Summit  Co., 
Utah  T. 

STOCKTON  AND  IONE  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  organized  in  1873  to  construct  a  narrow 
gauge  railway  from  Stockton,  California  northwestward  via 
Linden  to  lone  City  in  Amador  county,  a  distance  of  40  miles. 
Grading  was  commenced  in  1874,  but  financial  difficulties  pre¬ 
vented  the  laying  of  track  till  1875,  when  18  miles  were  ironed. 

The  maximum  grade  is  53  feet  to  the  mile. 

Weight  of  rail,  40  pounds  to  the  yard. 

James  D.  Schuyler,  Engineer,  Stockton,  Cal. 

TOLEDO  AND  MAUMEE  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  incorporated  and  certificate  filed  in  the 
office  of  the  Secretary  of  State  for  Ohio,  May  16th,  1873.  Or¬ 
ganization  did  not  take  place  till  September.  The  line  runs 
between  Toledo  and  Maumee,  all  in  Lucas  county,  a  distance 
of  8  miles,  which  was  completed  and  opened  for  traffic  August 
12,  1874.  The  road  has  since  been  projected  to  Van  Wert,  on 
the  Ohio  State  line,  a  distance  of  80  miles,  part  of  which  is  now 
under  construction,  there  to  connect  with  the  41st  parallel  nar¬ 
row  gauge  railway  of  Indiana,  which  is  to  connect  with  the 
Keithsburg  and  Eastern,  which  will  connect  with  the  Keiths- 
burg  and  Council  Bluffs  Railway. 

On  all  these  railways  some  work  is  being  done,  and  when 
all  are  completed  a  consolidation  will  be  effected,  thus  forming 
an  air  line  between  the  great  grain-growing  regions  of  the 
north-west  and  the  port  of  Toledo,  to  be  known  as  the  41st 
Parallel  Railroad. 

The  maximum  grade  is  25  feet  to  the  mile,  maintained  for  a 


9i 

quarter  of  a  mile,  and  the  proportion  of  grade  to  level  in  entire 
line  is 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  23 °  53'  (240  feet  radius). 

No.  of  trestles,  one,  length  150  feet. 

The  weight  of  rail  is  25  pounds  to  the  yard. 

Weight  of  engines,  19,000  pounds,  16,500  pounds  on  drivers. 

Average  cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equipment,  $8,000. 

Equipment — 2  locomotives,  I  passenger  car,  I  baggage  and 
express,  5  freight  cars. 

Operations — Total  gross  earnings  for  year  ending  January  1, 
1876,  $13,563.16.  Operating  expenses  reported  as  $19.48  per 
day,  which  would  equal  under  50%. 

Financial  statement — Capital  stock  authorized,  $125,000; 
paid  in  about  $50,000  ;  floating  debt  about  $15,000. 

Wm.  J.  Wells,  President,  Toledo,  Ohio. 

Geo.  W.  Reynolds,  Vice  President,  Toledo,  Ohio. 

TUSKEGEE  RAILROAD. 

This  Company  was  organized  under  the  laws  of  Alabama  in 
1871,  to  construct  a  narrow  gauge  road  from  Tuskegee  to 
Chehaw,  a  distance  of  6  miles.  Work  was  commenced  the 
same  year,  and  the  line  completed  in  November. 

The  maximum  grade  is  60  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  weight  of  rail  is  25  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  engine,  10  tons. 

Equipment — I  locomotive,  1  passenger  car,  3  freight  cars  of 
all  classes. 

G.  W.  Campbell,  Superintendent,  Tuskegee,  Ala. 

UTAH  NORTHERN  RAILROAD. 

This  Company  was  organized  in  the  fall  of  1871,  to  con¬ 
struct  a  narrow  gauge  railroad  from  Brigham,  a  station  on  the 
Central  Pacific  Railway,  via  Logan  to  Franklin,  a  distance  of 
61  miles.  The  line  has  since  been  extended  from  Brigham 
southward  to  Ogden,  25  miles,  and  northward  to  a  point  on 
the  Northern  Pacific  Railway,  in  Montana,  a  total  projected 
distance  of  450  miles. 

Work  was  commenced  in  1872,  and  during  that  year  30 


92 


miles  were  constructed  and  operated  between  Brigham  and 
Hampton.  In  1873  the  line  was  extended  27  miles,  and  during 
1 874  the  line  was  completed  to  Brigham,  and  from  Hyde  Park 
to  Franklin,  20  miles,  and  the  following  year  extended  north¬ 
ward  10  miles — making  total  line  in  operation  at  the  end  of 
1875,  87  miles.  35  miles  are  now  under  construction. 

The  maximum  grade  is  90  feet  to  the  mile,  maintained  for 
three  miles ;  and  the  proportion  of  grade  to  level  in  entire  line 
is  about  20  feet  per  mile. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  180  (319  feet  radius). 

The  weight  of  rail  is  30  pounds  to  the  yard. 

Weight  of  engines,  13  and  18  tons;  2 tons  placed  over 
each  driver. 

Average  cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equipment,  $9,500. 

Equipment — 5  locomotives,  4  passenger  cars,  42  freight  cars 
of  all  classes. 

Operations  for  year  ending  Dec.  31,  1875  :  Gross  earnings, 
$137,000.  Operating  expenses,  $77,000  (56.12  per  cent.) 
Net  earnings,  $60,000.  Financial  statement  not  published. 

R.  M.  Bassett,  President,  Birmingham,  Conn. 

Moses  Thatcher,  Secretary,  Logan,  Utah. 

Charles  Nibley,  G.  F.  and  T.  Agent,  Logan,  Utah. 

UTAH  WESTERN  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  organized  in  1874  to  purchase  all  rights 
and  interests  of  the  Salt  Lake,  Sevier  Valley  and  Pioche  nar¬ 
row  gauge  railway,  which  had  twenty  miles  of  its  line  graded 
and  bridged,  etc.  The  transfer  was  consummated  in  Septem¬ 
ber  and  the  line  of  route  laid  as  follows  : 

Leaving  Salt  Lake  City,  it  runs  westward  to  the  southern 
extremity  of  Great  Salt  Lake — 20  miles;  thence  to  Stockton, 
in  Tooele  county — 45  miles;  and  from  thence  is  projected  to 
the  Pacific.  Track  laying  was  commenced  in  November,  and 
by  the  end  of  the  year  1 8  miles  were  completed  and  put  in  ope¬ 
ration.  Construction  is  still  going  on,  but  report  of  track  laid 
in  1875  is  not  yet  to  hand. 

The  maximum  grade  is  74  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  curvature  is  almost  nil — the  alignment  being  very  direct. 


93 


The  weight  of  rail  is  30  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  engine,  19  tons. 

Equipment — 1  locomotive,  2  passenger  cars,  18  freight  cars 
of  all  classes. 

Financial  Statement — Capital  stock,  $920,000.  Funded 
debt,  $720,000. 

John  W.  Young,  President,  Salt  Lake  City,  U.  T. 

H.  B.  Clawson,  Vice  President,  Salt  Lake  City,  U.  T. 

John  N.  Pike,  Secretary,  Salt  Lake  City,  U.  T. 

H.  P.  Kimball,  Superintendent,  Salt  Lake  City,  U.  T. 

WALLA  WALLA  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  organized  in  1872,  to  construct  a  narrow 
gauge  railway  from  Walla  Walla,  Washington  Territory,  east 
ward  twenty  miles  to  a  point  on  the  Oregon  State  line.  Work 
commenced  in  1873,  and  during  that  year  ten  miles  were  con¬ 
structed  ;  the  following  year  ten  miles  additional,  completing 
the  line. 

No  statistical  information  could  be  obtained,  although  efforts 
were  made  to  secure  it. 

D.  S.  Baker,  President,  Walla  Walla,  W.  T. 

WASATCH  AND  JORDAN  VALLEY  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  incorporated  in  1873,  to  construct  a  nar¬ 
row  gauge  railway  from  Sandy,  a  station  on  the  Utah  Southern 
Railway,  to  Alta  City,  in  Little  Cottonwood  Canon,  where  the 
“Emma”  and  other  large  mines  are  situated,  a  distance  of  about 
20  miles.  During  1 873,  twelve  miles  were  completed  and  opened 
between  Sandy  and  Fairfield,  and  in  1875  it  was  extended  8 
miles  to  Alta. 

The  maximum  grade  is  287  feet  to  the  mile.  There  is  a 
grade  of  250  feet  to  the  mile  continuous  for  3  miles,  and  the 
ruling  gradient  is  heavy. 

The  line  is  reported  as  doing  a  good  business.  No  statisti¬ 
cal  information  or  statements  returned. 

Wm.  Jennings,  President,  Salt  Lake  City. 

Frank  Fuller,  Superintendent,  Salt  Lake  City, 


94 

WEST  END  NARROW  GAUGE  RAILROAD. 

This  company  is  a  reorganization  of  the  St.  Louis  and  Floris¬ 
sant,  1 6  miles  in  length,  of  which  8  miles  were  completed  dur¬ 
ing  1875,  and  the  remainder  is  now  under  construction. 

The  maximum  grade  is  105  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  20°  (288  feet  radius). 

No.  of  bridges,  3  ;  aggregate  length,  1100  feet. 

The  weight  of  rail  is  35  pounds  to  the  yard. 

Weight  of  engines,  12  and  20  tons. 

Average  cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equipment,  $12,000. 

Equipment — 2  locomotives,  3  passenger  cars. 

Operations — Line  only  opened  a  short  time. 

Financial  Statement — Capital  stock  authorized,  $150,000; 
paid  in,  $75,000. 

Erastus  Wells,  President,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Wm.  J.  Lewis,  Treasurer,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

C.  H.  Sharman,  Superintendent  and  Engineer,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

WORCESTER  AND  SHREWSBURY  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  organized  under  the  Massachusetts  Gen¬ 
eral  Railroad  Law  of  1872,  and  certificate  filed  April  27,  1873, 
to  construct  a  narrow  gauge  road  from  Washington  square,  in 
the  City  of  Worcester,  to  the  westerly  shore  of  Lake  Quinsiga- 
mond,  near  the  dividing  line  between  Worcester  and  Shrews¬ 
bury,  a  distance  of  about  3  miles,  thence  to  Shrewsbury,  the  line 
being  built  to  accommodate  pleasure  travel. 

Work  was  commenced  in  May,  and  the  road  formally 
opened  for  public  travel  on  July  31,  1873. 

The  maximum  grade  is  160  feet  to  the  mile,  partly  on  a 
12°  curve. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  1 5 0  40'  (366.8  feet  radius). 

The  weight  of  rail  is  35  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  engine,  1 1  tons. 

Equipment — 3  locomotives,  5  passenger  cars. 

Average  cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equipment,  $15,000. 

Operations  for  year  1 875 — Gross  earnings,  $9,947.32.  Opera¬ 
ting  expenses,  $7,739,59  (77.80  per  cent.).  Net  earnings, 
$2,207.73.  Greatest  number  of  passengers  carried  in  one  day, 
5,000. 


95 


Financial  Statement — Capital  stock  authorized,  $40,000 ; 
paid  in,  $35,000;  floating  debt,  $13,000. 

E.  B.  Stoddard,  President,  Worcester,  Mass. 

Joseph  E.  Davis,  Treasurer,  Worcester,  Mass. 

James  Draper,  Superintendent,  Worcester,  Mass. 

WYANDOTTE,  KANSAS  CITY  AND  NORTHWEST¬ 
ERN  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  organized  under  the  General  Railroad 
Law  of  Missouri,  on  the  10th  day  of  June,  1872,  to  construct 
a  narrow  gauge  railway  from  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  east  through 
the  counties  of  Jackson,  Lafayette,  Saline,  Howard,  Boone, 
Callaway,  Montgomery,  Warren,  St.  Charles  and  St.  Louis,  to 
the  city  of  St.  Louis,  a  distance  of  about  240  miles. 

The  line  of  route  passes  through  an  exceedingly  fine  agricul¬ 
tural  region,  and  contiguous  to  the  road  in  Lafayette  and  Saline 
counties  there  are  deposits  of  an  excellent  quality  of  bitumin¬ 
ous  coal.  Surveys  were  commenced  in  April,-  1873,  but  no 
construction  on  the  first  division,  between  Kansas  City  and 
Arrowrock  (owing  to  the  panic)  was  commenced  until  the 
spring  of  1874.  On  June  15th  the  first  spike  was  driven  at 
Independence,  Mo.,  and  the  first  train  ran  through  from 
Kansas  City  to  Independence,  10  miles,  August  3d.  During 
1875  the  line  was  extended  7  miles,  and  construction  is  now 
going  on  rapidly. 

The  maximum  grade  is  76  feet  to  the  mile. 

There  is  no  sharp  curvature. 

The  weight  of  rail  is  30  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  engines,  15  tons. 

Cost  of  road,  including  equipment,  per  mile,  $18,500. 

Equipment — 2  locomotives,  4  passenger  cars,  22  freight  cars, 
of  all  classes. 

Operations — Gross  earnings  have  averaged  $1,300  per  month 
Operating  expenses  not  published.  Financial  statement  with¬ 
held. 

Capital  stock  authorized,  $2,00 0,000. 

* 

F.  C.  Eames,  President,  Kansas  City,  Mo. 

A.  L.  Harris,  Treasurer,  Kansas  City,  Mo. 

G.  W.  Vaughn,  Superintendent  and  C.  E.,  Kansas  City,  Mo. 


CANADIAN  NARROW  GAUGE  RAILWAYS. 


From  a  report  of  Mr.  Edmund  Wragge,  issued  in  1871,  we 
make  the  following  extracts: 

“The  narrow  gauge  railways  which  have  been  already  con¬ 
structed  in  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  and  which  are  also  the 
first  upon  this  continent,  are  the  Toronto,  Grey  and  Bruce 
Railway  and  the  Toronto  and  Nipissing  Railway.  For  some 
years  prior  to  1866,  there  had  been  scarcely  any  railway  pro¬ 
gress  in  Canada,  and  owing  to  the  bad  repute  in  which  Cana¬ 
dian  Railways  were  held  as  an  investment  in  England,  it  seemed 
hopeless  to  wait  until  the  country  was  able,  of  itself,  to  find  the 
means  to  construct  railways  of  the  ordinary  character  and 
involving  the  ordinary  cost. 

“Mr.  Geo.  Laidlaw,  of  Toronto,  who  is  the  pioneer  of  narrow 
gauge  railways  upon  the  Continent  of  America,  seeing  no  way 
of  being  able  to  raise  the  money  necessary  for  an  ordinary  rail¬ 
way,  advertised  in  the  English  newspapers  for  some  account  of 
how  a  cheap  railway  could  be  constructed,  and,  at  that  time, 
knowing  nothing  of  narrow  gauge  railways,  received  answers, 
among  others,  from  Mr.  Carl  Pihl,  the  government  engineer  of 
Norway,  in  which  country  the  three  feet  six  inch  gauge  is  the 
national  gauge;  and  from  Sir  Charles  Fox  &  Sons,  of  London, 
who  had  already  constructed  a  railway  of  three  feet  six  inch 
gauge  in  India,  and  some  two  hundred  miles  of  similar  gauge 
railway  in  Queensland,  Australia.  With  that  perspicuity  for 
which  he  is  distinguished,  Mr.  Laidlaw  at  once  saw  that  this 
class  of  road  was  the  one  for  which  he  was  seeking,  and  which, 
while  it  would  afford  all  the  accommodation  likely  to  be  needed 

for  many  years  to  come,  could  be  constructed  at  a  minimum 

* 

cost,  consistent  with  efficiency.  He,  therefore,  immediately 
opened  communications  with  the  firm  of  Sir  Charles  Fox  & 
Sons,  and  without  going  into  the  details  of  the  various  steps 

(96) 


97 


which  have  followed  this  movement,  it  may  be  stated  they  ob¬ 
tained,  after  a  hard  fight  in  the  Legislature,  where  they  had  to 
meet  in  opposition  all  the  railway  authorities  of  the  Dominion, 
charters  for  the  construction  of  the  Toronto,  Grey  and  Bruce, 
and  Toronto  and  Nipissing  Railways,  upon  a  gauge  of  three 
feet  six  inches. 

The  operations  of  these  railways  were  so  satisfactory,  and  the 
conditions  of  the  country  the  same  in  the  Province  of  New 
Brunswick  and  Prince  Edward’s  Island,  that  their  respective 
governments  granted  charters  for  the  construction  of  railways 
with  a  three  feet  six  inch  gauge. 


On  December  31,  1875,  the  following  railways  in  the  British 
Possessions  in  North  America  had  narrow  gauge  track  laid: 


Toronto,  Grey  and  Bruce,  . 

Miles  Built , 
Including  Sidings. 

.  .  210 

Total  Projected 
Mileage . 

I9I 

Toronto  and  Nipissing,  . 

88 

230 

Lake  Champlain  and  St.  Lawrence, 

10 

IOO 

New  Brunswick, 

.  100 

I70 

Aroostook,  .... 

.  .  20 

20 

Riviere  du  Loup, 

91 

91 

Prince  Edward’s  Island, 

.  .  200 

200 

719  1002 

During  1876  the  New  Brunswick  and  the  Lake  Champlain 
and  St.  Lawrence  Railways  expect  to  build  or  partially  com¬ 
plete  the  remaining  unconstructed  portion  of  their  lines. 

In  addition  to  the  above  mentioned  railways,  the  following 
of  3  feet  6  inch  gauge  are  under  construction  or  projected: 

Bangor  &  Calais  Shore. 

Great  Southern  of  New  Brunswick 

Kingston  &  Pembroke, 

London,  Huron  &  Bruce. 

Credit  Valley. 

Fenelon  Falls. 

TORONTO,  GREY  AND  BRUCE  RAILROAD. 

This  Company  was  incorporated  by  special  act  in  1868,  to 
build  a  narrow  gauge  railway  of  3  feet  6  inch  gauge  from  To¬ 
ronto,  via  Orangeville  and  Mount  Forest,  to  Sydenham,  on 
Owen  Sound,  a  distance  of  122  miles,  and  also  a  branch  from 

7 


98 


Orangeville  to  Teeswater,  72  miles.  Some  months  elapsed 
in  educating  the  various  counties  and  townships  lying  along 
the  route  of  the  railway,  so  that  it  was  not  until  September, 
1869,  that  the  surveys  were  made.  The  following  month  con¬ 
struction  commenced.  During  1871-2  forty-nine  miles  were 
put  in  operation  on  the  main  line,  between  Toronto  and 
Orangeville,  and  thirty-eight  miles  on  the  branch.  The  follow¬ 
ing  year  144  miles  were  operated,  and  by  the  end  of  1874  the 
entire  line  of  195  miles  was  in  working  order. 

The  alignment  is  of  particular  interest  at  two  points  on  the 
T.,  G.  &  B.  R.,  being  marked  at  the  crossing  of  the  Humber 
River  (15  miles  from  Toronto),  and  at  the  ascent  of  the  Cale¬ 
don  Hills  (35  miles  from  Toronto),  by  a  series  of  sharp  curves, 
combined  with  which  are  heavy  grades,  deep  cuts  and  high 
embankments. 

The  maximum  grade  is  106  feet  to  the  mile  going  north, 
maintained  for  2 miles;  88  feet  per  mile  going  south,  main¬ 
tained  for  3,000  feet,  and  the  proportion  of  grade  to  level  in 
entire  line  is  79  per  cent. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  120  25'  (462  feet  radius),  and  the 
proportion  of  curvature  to  tangent  in  entire  line  is  21.8  per 
cent. 

The  weight  of  rail  from  35  to  58  pounds  to  the  yard. 

Weight  of  engines,  from  16  to  42  tons. 

Average  cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equipment,  $20,- 
000. 

Equipment — 20  locomotives,  12  passenger  cars,  3  post-office 
and  express,  3  smoking  and  baggage,  450  freight  and  other 
cars  of  all  classes. 

Operations  for  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1875 — The  win¬ 
ter  was  unprecedented  for  its  severeness,  so  that  earnings  fell 
off  considerably  from  those  of  1874.  Gross  earnings,  $331,- 
538;  operating  expenses,  $258,104  (77.85  per  cent.);  net 
earnings,  $73,434- 

Financial  statement — Capital  stock  authorized,  $3,000,000 ; 
paid  in,  $300,000;  municipal  bonuses,  $869,170.50;  govern¬ 
ment  bonuses,  $231,592.00;  Funded  debt,  $  1 ,600,000 ;  Float¬ 
ing  debt,  $500,000.  The  Company  is  now  endeavoring  to 


99 

make  arrangements  with  the  Government  for  reduction  of  its 
floating  debt. 

John  Gordon,  President,  Toronto,  Canada. 

Wm.  Ramsay,  Vice-President,  Toronto,  Canada. 

W.  Sutherland  Taylor,  Secy,  and  Treas.,  Toronto,  Canada. 
N.  Weatherston,  Genl.  Supt.,  Toronto,  Canada. 

Edmund  Wragge,  Chief  Engineer,  Toronto,  Canada. 

TORONTO  AND  NIPISSING  RAILROAD. 

This  Company  was  incorporated  by  the  Canadian  Legislature 
in  March,  1868,  to  construct  a  railway  of  3  feet  6  inch  gauge 
from  Toronto  to  Lake  Nipissing,  a  distance  of  230  miles. 
Work  was  commenced  in  1869,  and  during  the  two  following 
years  some  40  miles  were  operated.  In  1872,  64  miles,  and  in 
1873,  88  miles  between  Toronto  and  Coboconk,  the  present 
terminus,  were  opened.  This  was  the  first  narrow  gauge  rail¬ 
way  opened  for  traffic  on  the  continent  of  America. 

The  maximum  grade  is  106  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  sharpest  curvature  90  30'  (600  feet  radius). 

The  weight  of  rail  is  40  and  56  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  engines,  from  16  to  42  tons. 

Average  cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equipment,  $15 

293- 

Equipment — 12  locomotives,  7  passenger  cars,  3  baggage 
and  express,  284  freight  cars  of  all  classes,  1  snow  plough. 

Operations  for  year  ending  June  30th,  1875 — Gross  earn¬ 
ings,  $221,812.5 1 ;  operating  expenses,  $135,733.21  (61.25  Per 
cent);  net  earnings,  $86,079.30. 

Financial  statement — Capital  stock  authorized,  $3,000,000  ; 
paid  in,  $193,350;  municipal  bonuses,  $375>°72-59i  govern¬ 
ment  bonuses,  $104,860;  funded  debt,  $672,500,  8  per  cent, 
bonds;  floating  debt,  $290,801.11;  total  liabilities,  $1,636,- 

573*7 1  * 

Wm.  Gooderham,  Jr.,  President,  Toronto,  Canada. 

Alex.  T.  Fulton,  Vice-President,  Toronto,  Canada. 

Joseph  Gray,  Sec’y  and  Treas.,  Toronto,  Canada. 

Edmund  Wragge,  Chief  Engineer,  Toronto,  Canada. 


100 


NEW  BRUNSWICK  RAILROAD. 

This  company  was  incorporated  by  the  New  Brunswick 
Government  in  1870,  to  construct  a  railway  of  three  feet  six 
inch  gauge,  from  Gibson,  opposite  Frederickton,  on  the  St. 
John’s  River,  to  Edmunston  on  the  upper  St.  John  River,  a 
distance  of  160  miles,  with  a  branch  to  Woodstock,  ten  miles, 
The  road  has  since  been  projected  to  Riviere  du  Loup,  a  sta¬ 
tion  on  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway,  making  a  total  distance  of 
260  miles. 

Work  was  commenced  in  1873,  and  52  miles  opened  for 
traffic;  the  following  year  48  miles  were  completed — the  main 
line  between  Gibson  and  Perth  and  the  Woodstock  branch 
being  operated  during  1875.  Construction  is  now  going  for¬ 
ward  on  the  northern  end  of  the  main  line. 

The  maximum  grade  is  85  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  sharpest  curvature  io°,  (573  feet  radius.) 

The  weight  of  rail  is  45  pounds  to  the  yard. 

The  weight  of  engines,  built  on  the  Fairlie  principle,  27 
tons. 

The  cost  per  mile,  including  equipment,  will  probably  not 
exceed  $13,500. 

Equipment — 4  locomotives,  3  passenger  cars,  1  baggage  and 
express,  40  freight  cars  of  all  classes. 

Operations — Not  reported. 

Financial  Statement — Capital  stock  authorized,  $3,000,000  ; 
paid  in,  $650,000 ;  funded  debt,  first  mortgage  6  per  cent,  bonds, 
$1,000,000;  floating  debt,  $43,000;  total  liabilities,  $1,693,000. 

Alex.  Gibson,  President,  Frederickton,  N.  B. 

J.  L.  Inches,  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  Frederickton,  N.  B. 

Thos.  Hoben,  Superintendent,  Frederickton,  N.  B. 

PRINCE  EDWARD’S  ISLAND  RAILROAD. 

This  road,  of  a  3  feet  6  inch  gauge,  which  was  built  and  is 
operated  by  the  Government,  traverses  the  whole  length  of  the 
Island,  from  Tiguish,  in  the  north,  to  Georgetown  and  Souris, 
in  the  east,  connecting  also  with  Summerside  and  Charlotte¬ 
town,  on  the  south,  a  total  distance  of  main  line  and  branches 
of  200  miles.  Work  was  commenced  in  1873,  an^  fifty  miles 


IOI 


constructed  during  that  year.  In  1874  seventy  miles  were 
built,  and  the  whole  line  was  completed  during  1875. 

The  maximum  grade  is  70  feet  to  the  mile,  and  the  propor¬ 
tion  of  grade  to  level  in  entire  line  is  eighty-six  per  cent. 

The  sharpest  curvature  is  n°  30'  (500  feet  radius),  and  the 
proportions  of  curvature  to  tangent  in  entire  line  33 

No.  of  bridges,  46 ;  aggregate  length,  2403  feet. 

The  weight  of  rail  is  40  pounds  to  the  yard. 

Weight  of  engines,  22  and  26  tons. 

Average  cost  of  road  per  mile,  including  equipment, 
$16,000. 

Equipment — 14  locomotives,  28  passenger  cars,  168  freight 
cars. 

Operations — Not  reported. 

Financial  Statement — Not  published. 

W.  McKechnie,  Superintendent,  Charlottetown,  Prince  Ed¬ 
ward’s  Island. 

T.  Williams,  Accountant,  Charlottetown,  Prince  Edward’s 
Island. 


OBSZEZRWA.TIOItTS 


On  1ST arrow  Grange  Railways, 

BY  PRACTICAL  MEN. 


- + - 

They  are  a  success. — President  Bell's  Gap  Railroad. 

The  right  thing  in  the  right  place. — President  West  End  Railroad. 

Can’t  be  beaten  by  any  wide  gauge. — Superintendent  Utah  Northern  Railroad. 

We  are  greatly  prejudiced  in  their  favor. — President  Peachbottom  Railroad. 

I  hey  ought  to  be  more  generally  built. — President  Worcester  and  Shrewsbury 
Railroad. 

The  only  means  of  securing  cheap  transportation. — Secretary  Havana,  Ran- 
toul  <5r  Eastern  Railroad. 

Favorable  as  feeders  to  broad  gauge  and  for  cheap  transportation  of  freight. — 
Secretary  Greenlick  Railroad. 

Have  found  no  difficulty  in  working  the  road  yet  on  account  of  gauge. — Pres¬ 
ident  Neva  Brunswick  Railway. 

We  are  much  delighted  with  our  Narrow  Gauge  Road,  and  believe  it  an 
entire  success. — President  Memphis  Branch  Railway. 

Preferable  to  anything  wider.  Can  do  as  much  as  any  gauge,  and  much 
cheaper. — Lessee  Baltimore  &  Hammondsport  Raihvay. 

The  best  system  for  a  broken,  difficult  country,  requiring  high  grades  and 
heavy  curves. — Secretary  Golden  &  South  Platte  Railroad. 

J  think  the  narrow  gauge  railroad  is  the  one  to  build  where  traffic  is  not 
enough  to  support  a  standard  gauge. — President  Hot  Springs  Railroad. 

We  have  been  operating  this  road  since  the  fall  of  1872,  and  the  Narrow 
Gauge  has  given  entire  satisfaction. — Superintendent  Arkansas  Central  Raihvay. 

Every  dollar  expended  to  obtain  a  wide  gauge  would  have  been  useless ;  be¬ 
sides,  it  would  have  cost  more  to  operate. — President  Denver  Rio  Grande 
Railroad. 

I  think  them  preferable  to  standard  gauge,  and  competent  to  do  all  business 
that  other  roads  do  at  70  per  cent,  of  cost  of  doing  same  on  standard  gauge. —  Vice- 
President  Toledo  &  Alaumee  Railroad. 

(  102  ) 


103 


As  regards  our  opinions  of  Narrow  Gauge,  we  simply  state  that  they  cost  less 
to  construct  and  operate,  and  do  as  good  work  as  the  broad  gauge. — Secretary 
Monterey  dr3  Salinas  Valley  Railroad. 

After  an  experience  of  two  years  in  operating  a  narrow  gauge  road,  I  do  confi¬ 
dently  believe  it  can  be  operated  for  two-thirds  the  cost  of  ordinary  4  feet 
inch  gauge,  all  things  considered. — Superintendent  Crown  Point  Railroad. 

For  the  purpose  for  which  this  road  was  intended,  it  is  a  success,  and  answers 
the  purpose  much  better  than  any  other  gauge  could,  leaving  all  competition  from 
neighboring  standard  gauge  behind.- — Superintendent  Cairo  &  St.  Louis  Railroad. 

I  consider  Narrow  Gauge  Railways  adapted  to  all  localities  where  grades  ex¬ 
ceed  100  feet  per  mile,  and  the  formation  of  the  country  necessitates  curves  of 
greater  degree  than  12. — Chief  Engineer  Colorado  Central  Railway. 

I  consider  the  Narrow  Gauge  fully  equal  to  all  the  requirements  of  all  kinds 
of  traffic,  being  cheaper  to  build,  and  cheaper  and  safer  to  operate  than  the 
standard  gauge. — President  Rlineral  Range  Railway. 

The  gauge  is  3  feet  6  inches,  and  is  all  that  can  be  wished,  so  far  as  the  gauge 
is  concerned.  Our  traffic  is  now  getting  so  heavy  that  we  are  laying  down  56- 
pound  rails,  some  of  iron  and  some  of  steel. —  Chief  Engineer  Toronto,  Grey  Sr3 
Bruce  Railway. 

I  would  state  that  our  road  carries  the  freight  between  these  two  points  with 
quite  as  much  facility  as  the  former  5-feet  track.  The  Superintendent  reports 
that  he  uses  only  of  the  amount  of  fuel  that  was  formerly  used. —  Chief  Engi¬ 
neer  Chester  and  Lenoir  Railway, 

The  experience  of  this  Company  in  every  instance  confirms  their  opinion  of 
the  efficiency  of  the  Narrow  Gauge  system,  and  they  think  it  fully  proven  that 
a  three-feet-gauge  is  capable  of  doing  all  the  business  required  of  any  ordinary 
road. — Secretary  Painesville  dr3  Youngstown  Railway. 

I  consider  that  our  experiment  fully  demonstrates  that  for  safety,  comfort  and 
traffic,  the  Narrow  Gauge  is  the  true  system.  The  theory  grew  in  favor  with 
every  one  connected  with  the  Company,  or  who  observed  its  working  and  eco¬ 
nomical  construction  and  maintenance. — Steperintendent  North  and  South  of 
Georgia  Railway. 

So  far  as  my  experience  with  Narrow  Gauge  Railroads  is  concerned,  I  would 
say  that  I  can  see  no  reason  why  our  road  will  not  do  as  much  work  as  any  of 
the  standard  gauge  local  roads  are  now  doing.  Having  had  several  years  expe¬ 
rience  upon  5-feet  gauge  roads,  I  will  say  that  for  any  road  not  having  a  heavy 
through  business  in  connection  with  other  standard  roads,  I  would  unhesitatingly 
recommend  the  three- feet  gauge. —  Chief  Engineer  Galena  &  Southern  Wiscon¬ 
sin  Railway. 

After  three  years’  trial  we  are  convinced  that  any  railroad  business  may  be 
done  on  a  Narrow  Gauge  Road,  and  can  be  done  cheaper  than  on  the  gauge  now 
common.  The  construction  of  the  Narrow  Gauge  Road  is  much  cheaper  than 
the  proportion  between  that  and  the  common  gauge  would  seem  to  indicate.  The 


104 


bridges,  with  proportionately  less  material,  are  much  stronger.  Tunnels  require 
little  or  no  strengthening.  The  repair  of  road  and  machinery  is  trifling. — Presi¬ 
dent  Pittsburg  6°  Castle  Shannon  Railway. 

We  are  perfectly  satisfied  that  the  three  feet  gauge  is  all  that  is  required  for 
the  demands  of  commerce.  We  have  all  we  can  do  in  the  way  of  both  freights 
and  passengers.  The  present  looks  favorable,  and  the  cost  being  much  less  than 
broad  gauge,  we  are  able  to  freight  under  the  Iowa  Tariff  Laws  with  a  fair  profit. 
—  Vice-President  Des  Moines  6°  Minnesota  Railway. 

We  are  perfectly  satisfied,  from  the  workings  of  our  road,  that  the  Narrow 
Gauge  system  is  the  plan  on  which  all  roads  of  the  South  should  have  been  con- 
strusted.  We  consider  it  perfectly  adequate  to  meet  every  emergency  in  traffic  ; 
in  fact,  we  believe  it  superior  in  point  of  capacity.  We  have  been  operating  our 
road  since  November,  1871,  and  have  never  had  an  accident.  We  consider  the 
Narrow  Gauge  system  to  be  superior  in  point  of  security,  economy  and  conveni- 
ence. — Superintendent  Tuskegee  Railway. 


5 


Milwaukee  Iron  Co. 


MANUFACTURERS  OF 

RAILROAD  IRON, 

SPLICE  BARS.  TRACK  BOLTS 

AND 

CAR  LINKS  AND  PINS, 

FOR 


RAILS  FROM  30  TO  65  LBS.  PER  YARD. 


(CORRESPONDENCE  INVITED.) 

Re-rolling  done  promptly  and  at  favorable  rates.  Splices 
kept  to  fit  all  standard  patterns.  A  full  assortment  of  MER¬ 
CHANT  BAR  IRON  in  store. 

MILWAUKEE  IRON  CO., 

J.  J.  HAGERMAN.  Prcst.  MILWAUKEE,  WIS. 

7* 


Having  extensive  facilities,  are  now  prepared  to  furnish 
promptly,  of  the  best  and  most  approved  description 
either  COAL  or  WOOD  BURNING 


AND  OTHER  VARIETIES  OF 


J.  S.  ROGERS,  President.  'I 

R.  S.  HUGHES,  Secretary.  >  Paterson,  N.  J. 

WM.  S.  HUDSON,  Supt.  J 

THOS.  ROGERS,  Treas., 

44  Exchange  Place,  New  York. 


ESTABLISHED  1848. 


:o: 


Office  and  Works,  1000  Hamilton  St.,  Philadelphia. 

Branch  Office,  79  Liberty  Street,  New  York. 


MANUFACTURERS  OF  A  FULL  LINE  OF 


RAILWAY  TURN-TABLES, 


All  Appliances  required  in  Transmission  of  Power 

a  Specialty. 

IMPROVED 


Photographs,  Illustrations,  Pamphlets,  etc.,  sent  to  any  ad 
dress  upon  application.  Correspondence  solicited. 


(ESTABLISHED  IN  1852,) 


YORK,  PElsHSTA., 

Builders  of  Narrow  Gauge  Cars  of  every  description, 
including  Hand,  Push  and  Mining  Cars. 

In  addition  to  our  Large  Freight  Car  Works,  we  have  added  a  depart 
ment  for  Passenger  Cars,  and  are  now  building 

FIRST-CLASS  PASSENGER  CARS, 

Of  the  best  workmanship  and  of  the  finest  finish,  also  Second  and  Third 
Class,  at  very  low  prices ,  specially  suited  for  short  and  cheap  Narrow  Gauge 
Roads. 

Up  to  this  date  we  have  furnished  Rolling  Stock  for 
over  Thirty  Narrow  Gauge  Roads. 

The  location  of  our  works  is  most  favorable  for  shipment  from  the 

Forts  of  New  York ,  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore. 

The  cars  can  be  constructed  in  sections,  may  be  entirely  completed  be¬ 
fore  being  packed  for  transportation. 

NOTE.-T  hr  Peachbottom  Narrow  Gauge  Railway,  beginning 
at  York,  Pa.,  being  in  practical  operation,  persons  desirous  of  examining  a 
Narrow  Gauge  Road  and  its  equipment,  can  do  so  by  calling  on  us,  where 
they  will  find  our  cars  in  daily  use,  it  being  only  a  few  hours’  ride  from 
New  York,  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore. 


m 

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manufactured  by  SCBWEIZEK  &  GRUWE,  71  Broadway 


LOCOMOTIVE  WORKS. 


W.  H.  BAILEY  <fc  CO., 


MANUFACTURERS  OF 


LOCOMOTIVE  ENGINES, 

Of  the  best  and  most  approved  description,  and  adapted  to  every 
kind  of  service,  to  burn  either  wood  or  coal. 

Locomotives  for  Furnaces,  Iron  Mills,  Contractors’ 
Use,  and  Mine  Locomotives. 


A  SPECIALTY, 


All  parts  built  to  a  standard  gauge  and  thoroughly 

interchangeable. 

Material,  Workmanship,  Finish,  and  Efficiency  fully  guaranteed. 
Photographs  and  Specifications  furnished  on  application. 
Correspondence  Solicited. 

Office  and  Works  at  Connellsville,  Pa. 


Cleveland  Rolling  Mill  Co., 

MANUFACTURERS  OF 


- AND - 


RAILROAD  IRON, 

FOR  WIDE  AND  NARROW  GAUGE  RAILROADS. 


MERCHANTS’  BAR,  BEAMS,  GIRDERS, 


IRON  AND  STEEL,  WIRE, 

Washers,  Boiler  Rivets,  Fish  Plates,  Railroad 
Spikes,  Track  and  Bridge  Bolts . 

Capacity  of  Steel  Works,  One  Hundred  &  Forty  Tons  per  day. 

The  Metal  from  which  this  Company  make  their  Steel,  is  equal  in  quality  to 
the  celebrated  Swedish  Metal. 


Office.— 99  and  101  Water  Street, 

aLEATIELA-lSriD,  O. 

A.  B.  STONE,  H.  CHISHOLM,  E.  S.  PAGE, 

President,  Vice-Pres.  and  Gen’i  Supt.,  Secretary, 

20  Nassau  St.,  N.  Y.  CLEVELAND.  CLEVELAND 


THE 


Taylor  Iron  Works, 

HIGH  BRIDGE,  N.  J. 

MANUFACTURERS  OF 

CIXIEEED  AND  STEEX.-TIRED 

LOCO.  TENDER  AND  TRUCK, 

PASSENGER,  FREIGHT  AND  COAL  CAR 

WHEELS, 

HAMMERED  CAR,  TRUCK  AND  DRIVING 


DRAW  HOOKS,  SHAFTING,  AND  GENERAL  F0I|Glt(GS, 

MADE  FROM  SELECT  SCRAP  IRON,  (NO  OLD  RAILS  USED.) 


Special  attention  given  to  NARROW  GAUGE  WHEELS 
AND  AXLES,  for  which  our  facilities  and  experience  inci¬ 
dent  to  a  large  trade  in  this  specialty,  are  unsurpassed. 


New  York  Office  No.  93  Liberty  St 


L.  H.  TAYLOR,  Pres’t. 

S.  P.  RABER,  Sup’t.  J.  H.  WALKER,  Sec’y  &  Treas. 


ADDRESS 


ENGINEERS  @  CONTRACTORS 

FOR  THE 


Construction  of  Iron  1  Wooden  Bridges 

STEEL,  SUSPENSION  BRIDGES, 

Roofs,  Viaducts,  and  Turn-tables. 


MANUFACTURERS  OF 

Die-forged  Eye-bars,  Truss  Bolts, 

COMPRESSION  MEMBERS  AND  BRIDGE 
MATERIALS  GENERALLY. 


OFFICE,  52  WALL  STREET,  NEW  YORK. 


C.  MACDONALD,  WM.  M.  FINCKE, 

President  and  Engineer.  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 


PORTER,  BELL  &  CO., 


PITTSBURGH,  PEIWA., 

Exclusive  Specialty 


Over  50  Sizes  and  Styles,  from  7x12  to  14x20  Cylinders. 


NARROW  GAUGE  Freight  and  Passenger  Engines  for 
Light  or  Heavy  Equipment. 

SPECIAL  SERVICE  Engines,  for  Contractors’  Use,  R.  R. 
Construction  and  Shifting,  Furnaces,  Mills,  Quarries, 
Ore,  Coal,  and  Lumber  Roads,  &c. 

MINE  LOCOMOTIVES  to  conform  to  required  dimensions 
and  do  the  work  of  io  to  30  mules,  at  less  than  the  cost 
of  operating  three  mules  and  drivers. 

Photograph  and  Price  of  Engine  to  do  required  work, 

furnished  on  application. 


$t**l  Xro 

^  Manufacturers  of  Standard 

HAMMERED 


Steel  Bails  and  Axles, 


PISTON  RODS,  GUIDE  BARS, 

WWW  TVSB, 


Made  of  a  quality  unsurpassed  in  this  or  any  other  country.  Also, 

Steel  Rail  Frogs,  Crossings, 

SWITCHES  AND  CAR  REPLACERS. 

Of  the  Most  Improved  Patterns. 

Address  all  orders  to 

Pennsylvania  Steel  Company, 

No.  316  South  4th  St.,  Philadelphia. 

S.  M.  FELTON,  President.  H.  C.  SPACEMAN,  Treasurer. 

E.  F.  BARKER,  Secretary. 

Works  at  Baldwin  Station,  Penn’a  R.  R.,  near  Harrisburg. 

LUTHER  S.  BENT,  Superintendent. 


WM.  B.  BEMENT  &  SON, 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA., 

MANUFACTURERS  OF 


For  locomotive  and  Car  Construction 

and  Repairs. 


Foundry  I  Smiths’  Shop  Fixtures, 

INCLUDING 

STEAM  HAMMERS  OF  ALL  SIZES. 


Situated  on  the  line  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  at  the  western  base  of  the 
Allegheny  Mountains,  are  the  largest  of  their  class  in  the  United  States,  and  are 
now  prepared  to  make 


2,000  TONS  PER  WEEK  OF 


The  Company  possesses  inexhaustible  mines  of  Coal  and  Ore,  of  suitable 
varieties  for  the  production  of 


Their  location,  coupled  with  every  known  improvement  in  machinery  and 
process  of  manufacture,  enables  them  to  offer  Rails,  when  quality  is  considered, 
at  lowest  market  rates.  Address, 


CAMBRIA  IRON  COMPANY, 

No.  218  South  4th  Street,  Philadelphia, 
Or  at  the  Works,  Johnstown,  Pa., 

Or  J.  S.  KENNEDY  &.  CO.,  Selling  Agents, 

No.  41  Cedar  Street,  New  York. 


Philadelphia  Car  Works, 
j.  g.  brill  &  co„ 

Thirty -first  and  Chestnut  Sts., 

PHILADELPHIA, 


Builders  of  Narrow  Gauge  Passenger  Cars  of  all 
classes ,  also  Freight ,  Mine  and  Hand  Cars . 

The  Works  — One  square  from  Penn’a  Railroad  depot,  are  on 
line  of  Railroad  to  North,  South  and  West,  also  adjoining  Wharves 
on  river  Schuylkill. 


ALSO  BUILDERS  OF 


STREET  OARS, 

Of  most  approved  styles  for  one  or  two  horses,  and  for  the  various 
gauges. 

Note  . — Our  Narrow  Gauge  Cars  are  being  used  on  the  Camden, 
Gloucester  and  Mount  Ephraim  Railroad,  within  a  few  minutes’  ride 
of  our  works.  Also  on  the  Mexico  and  Toluca  and  other  South 
American  Railroads.  Our  Street  Cars  are  in  use  on  the  principal 
roads  in  Philada. ,  as  also  in  the  different  cities  in  the  United  States. 
Photographs  and  Specifications  sent  on  application. 


THE  HENDERSON 


Hydraulic  Car  Brake  Co., 

253  South.  Third  Street, 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 

J.  B.  BAKER,  Pres’t. 

The  Henderson  Hydraulic  Brake  is  specially  recommended  to  Narrow  Gauge 
Railroad  Companies  as  the 


POWER  BRAKE  IN  USE. 

It  has  been  in  successful  operation  on  the  West  Chester  and  Philadelphia 
Railroad  since  April,  1874,  and  recently  011  other  roads,  giving  entire  satisfaction. 


Illustrated  pamphlet  and  full  particulars  sent  on  application. 


The  Ferroux  Rock  Drill, 

(United  States  Patent  for  Sale,) 

The  most  simple  and  effective  machine  for  all  kinds  of 

TUNNELLING  @  MINE  WORK. 

This  machine  is  now  exclusively  used  at  the  Goeschenen  end  of  the  St. 
Gothard  Tunnel,  in  Switzerland,  having  superseded  all  other  drills,  as  it  has 
been  found  to  be  the  best  on  tenacious  rock.  These  Drills  are  now  extensively 
used  in  Europe  and  South  America, 

542  Machines  having  been  Manufactured  within 

Eighteen  Months. 

CHEAPNESS,  SIMPLICITY,  SMALL  REPAIRING  EXPENSE. 

Address  HOWARD  FLEMING, 

311^  WALNUT  STREET, 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


HOWARD  FLEMING, 


3111  Walnut  Street, 


PHILADELPHIA,  PENNA., 

DEALER  IN 

RAILROAD  IRON 

AND 


SUPPLIES, 

Steel  Tyres  and  Axles. 

AGENT  FOR  THE 


SI 


Estimates  of  cost  of  building  Narrow  Gauge  Rail¬ 
ways  carefully  prepared,  and  contracts  taken  for  construction, 
including  iron  and  rolling  stock.  Correspondence  solicited. 


